A lot of people think about the legacy that they will leave behind for their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to remember, but many don’t realize that you are leaving the same sort of impact on the internet. The internet remembers everything you do by tracking your digital footprint.
What is a digital footprint?
According to and article on https://www.internetsociety.org/tutorials/your-digital-footprint-matters/ “Your digital footprint is all the stuff you leave behind as you use the Internet. Comments on social media, Skype calls, app use and email records- it’s part of your online history and can potentially be seen by other people, or tracked in a database.”
Whether you like it or not someone is always watching you online. For people like me who are future communication professionals, this has a huge impact on how we brand ourselves.
How this can impact those involved in communications:
- When job searching, a potential future boss could look up your digital footprint and choose to not hire you if they see something they don’t approve.
- If you are planning on being in broadcasting and are under the public eye it is very important to make sure your digital footprint is clear of any “dirty laundry”.
- It is important to understand what you leave behind when you visit a website.
How privacy is affected:
The public access of private internet activity is alarming to many citizens in a democratic society where we are free to browse on all internet platforms. Many people are uncomfortable with their personal life being invaded. While it is an invasion of privacy, it is also a tactic that has saved lives. While our internet activity is being monitored, the activity of criminals, terrorists, and others are also being watched. This helps prevent people from getting hurt because we are able to monitor what they are searching and possibly planning so we are able to shut it down before it even happens.
A good website where you can learn how to manage your digital footprint is: https://safesitter.org/digital-footprints/ CHECK IT OUT!
Another good website that gives 3 tips to make your digital footprint unhackable is: https://www.wired.com/2014/09/dont-get-hacked/
Therefore, while the monitoring of personal internet activity may seem creepy or invasive, it helps business owners hire the right people, advertisers and business make more money by monitoring previous searches and getting their brand in front of consumers, and it could also wind up saving lives.
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