On the internet things never go away once they are uploaded. Even things that may seem superficial at the time they are added to the net can have devastating consequences if the social attitudes surrounding them shift. Given this fact, it is important to be careful when uploading things to the net. You do not want to upload anything that will hurt your professional aspirations in the future, and for this reason, it is best to avoid posting content that could be seen as controversial. in this way you can maintain a positive digital footprint and save yourself the drama and heart ake that can come from problematic posts related to your online persona.

What exactly is this online persona? Well to put it simply, your online persona is the culmination of all content you post on the internet from the time you first begin to access the net, to the time you stop interacting with the net (for whatever reason). This online persona leaves a digital footprint over time as it (aka you) post and access content across the net via various platforms. This footprint is multifaceted and consists of many levels of information with various levels of accessibility to the outside world. First of all, there is inaccessible information that no one but (and a small group of people) you can see. This includes search history private messages (like email or text),  and online orders. In this segment of an individual’s footprint, there exists a greater amount of liberty given the fact that it is okay to speak more freely given the privacy these various functions provide. Past this is the public face that is displayed to the world. In this (particularly if you are in a professional career with overarching moral frameworks) it is expected that you act responsibly and try not to stir the pot too much. Although it seems like it would not be too hard to do statements can easily be taken out of context in the public forum leading to long-lasting personal damage.

Although the idea that even seemingly harmless content can come back to bite you may be scary, it does not need to be this way. Digital footprints can be a good thing too as long as posts are positive and representative of positive things. If the individual puts their best foot forward, the net can be really helpful given the fact that the exposure it can provide you can be incredibly helpful for a wide variety of reasons (for instance, job opportunities and professional development experiences).

Personally, I am not much of a user of the internet or social media. Of course, I need to use it for class and research, however, I try to stay away from it as much as I can. For me, I see much of social media as distracting and useless to my growth as an individual. Given the chance to read a book or scroll facebook I will always choose the book as I can potentially learn something useful from it. I see the internet and social media as means to an end. I want to use it to give myself opportunities and help others, however, I do not want to use the net as a form of entertainment. This will likely bode well for me in the long run as I highly doubt I will post something overly controversial or inflammatory as I do not really post anything (unless it’s a cool picture or something like that).

Speaking of cool pictures I took this one last week. I think it represents my approach towards the internet very well. As a metaphor, I would say that my interactions with the net are like this tree in the way that it is nice once and a while. If I were to see it every day it would not be as special as if I only see it occasionally. Everything in moderation.

Work Cited:

Ambry, Odile. (2020). Your Digital Footprint Matters. Retrieved from https://www.internetsociety.org/tutorials/your-digital-footprint-matters.

Christensson, P. (2014, May 26). Digital Footprint Definition. Retrieved from https://techterms.com.

Ericksen, Kristina. (2014). Your Digital Footprint: What Is It and How Can You Manage It?. Retrieved from https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/what-is-digital-footprint.