Understanding Your Digital Footprint and Its Impact

Digital Learning Digital Footprint

A digital footprint is the information that is found about people through the trail of data left behind. Someone's presence on social media, the emails they send, the cookies websites collect from them, and even personal information such as their address adds on to their digital footprint. There are two type of digital footprints: a passive footprint and an active footprint. The data from an active footprint is acquired when users deliberately share their information online (e.g., posting pictures, accepting cookies, etc.) whereas a passive footprint is when users are unaware that they are adding on to their digital footprint (websites that extract your location data). What is a digital footprint?

Work/Employers Almost all employers run a check for your digital footprint and look at how you present yourself on the internet. This is important for all employers as they want to know exactly who is representing them. They look to see what type of digital identity you have and judge your character from there. School Like employers, colleges and universities also run a background check, which consists of checking one's digital footprint as well. A positive digital footprint can help a student when they are applying to a school. Since schools cannot judge your character by your written application, they turn to digital data. How Your Digital Footprint Affects Your Future/Personal Brand

There are various reasons and scenarios where your digital footprint might be looked at. Regardless, a digital footprint can be embarrassing and harmful to your reputation. Information posted on the internet is visible to the public and can reflect on you in a negative way. Your digital footprint could be used against you as blackmail and could prevent you from accessing certain opportunities due to how your digital trail reflects back on you. Why We Need To Be Aware of Our Digital Footprint

When I searched up my name, there were no results that came up which were related to me. There were some athletes with the same name, but it was mainly different business brands named "Arina." There might be a higher chance of finding me on social media as my name isn't very common, however, I do not post on platforms so there would be very minimal information to find about me. My Digital Footprint

Digital permanence is the idea that once something is put on the internet, it can never be taken off. Even if it has been removed from the original site where it was posted, the material is not gone as someone could still have access to it and it could be spread around. Screenshots, screen recordings, and downloads are some examples of how people could still access deleted material. Digital Permanence

Due to digital permanence, whatever that is posted or whatever data about you is collected can never be removed. Because of this, you must be cautious and think about your online presence and control what you post because if you regret it and decide to delete the material, it would be too late. Some copy of it will always be available to the public. Why We Should Be Aware of Digital Permanence

3 Ways to be Safe Online Utilizing Privacy Settings Make sure that you have strong passcodes with verification codes and have all your accounts on private. Try to not overshare on the internet to avoid putting out information that could potentially hurt you at some point. Setting Up A Backup Email Account A secondary account that is used to sign up for social media platforms, newsletters, and spam emails is a good idea. It keeps anything that could harm your reputation away from your primary email and digital identity and help minimize your digital footprint. Being Cautious Make sure that you do not go on unsafe or unfamiliar sites. Some websites may try and collect information about you in discreet ways. Some sites install cookies or utilize geolocation to get you location data with you being aware of it.

Live My Digital for Students: Digital Footprint. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBg2YYV 3Bts. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021. Sharing Link Validation. https://sd43bcca.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/Sectio n_2022-FY-4343088-705681-XAT--10EP-2- MST00000D7ha1b/EXG9lMJ9UAxCsLGZ_mml2 TsBw9E3HAXD4dA368dz-Uf9fg. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021. The Digital Footprint in the Classroom & Beyond | GoGuardian. https://www.goguardian.com/blog/understan ding-the-digital-footprint. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021. Citations