Digital Footprint (Digital Literacy Assignment#2)

How might your digital footprint affect your brand and future (e.g., school and work) opportunities? Why is it important to be aware of one’s digital footprint?

I think that digital footprint is a huge factor affecting my brand because everything can be traced back to you and no content is ever truly deleted from the internet. For example, if someone posted an inappropriate comment about something a few years and are currently looking for a job, their employer might first search that person on Google and decide not to hire that person because of the comment. Not managing your digital footprint can cost you your job and career. Another reason to care about your digital footprint is your private information. Few people know how much data is shared between third parties whom you might not have ever heard of. Your personal information might get used for nefarious purposes like gaining access to your bank account by answering the security questions with information that you already disclosed to another site.

Describe at least three strategies (e.g., consider passwords, cookies, security, etc.) that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.

Strategies:

Use private browsing. Private browsing makes sure not to save any of the data from a website after you closed the session. Using private browsing might mean losing a bit of convenience like auto log-in, but I personally think it’s worth it for the privacy that you get.
Use the TOR browser. The Tor browser uses a technique called onion routing to make sure that data travels in a secured manner across the internet, making it very hard to trace. It’s even free and open-sourced. (Here’s the link.)
Think about what you are posting online. Think about every post before you post it online. Ask yourself whether this post is appropriate and think about what it means out of context. Ask yourself whether you are comfortable letting your current/future boss see this.

How would you explain the idea of “digital permanence” to anyone in your spheres of influence: other students, your family members, your teachers, etc.? Why should we care and be aware of this concept?

I would explain to them the idea by telling them that nothing is ever truly deleted. I would give them an example by telling them to imagine a hypothetical scenario. One day, while sorting through your pictures, you came across a picture you took with your friend at a carnival, you email it to your friend, and he/she decided to post it on facebook. Then the friends of your friend might’ve seen the picture and decided to post on another social media platform like Twitter. Even if you wanted to remove the picture, you can’t because it’s already beyond your control. This example reminds us that you can’t do anything about it once it’s on the internet.

Citations:

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