Driving Question (blog post 2)- Will your digital footprint really last a lifetime?

"Be careful what you post on the internet, you can never erase it", "post only what you wouldn't mind your mother or employer seeing", "the internet never deletes things, it in the web forever" .....

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We've all heard these things, it can make one tune out and dismiss it as web hysteria. But is it true?

Well according to experts, digital footprints really do last a lifetime, something that you posted when you were 12 or 13 on Google+ or Facebook can effect your ability to find jobs as a 30-year-old. In this current era, more and more employers turn to social media to find out about an applicant. Often this is the difference between a call for an interview or an email saying the position was filled.

Let me challenge you, google your name and see what comes up....

A couple of weeks ago, I googled myself for some fun and what I found both surprised me and caused me to re-think my approach to social media.

I found some of my old accounts from blogs and profiles that I had when I was younger, profiles and posts that I thought were deleted but had still somehow come up. None of them bad, but the idea that my digital footprint was there caused me to think about what I am posting now and what will I think about that in 5 years time, when I'm looking for professional jobs.

So I began researching and I found that having a digital footprint is a real phenomenon and it actually lasts a lifetime. Studies on this topic have found that "Anything that has ever been online, even if deleted by the user, is still searchable"(Shelley Moore). Which means that anything that you have posted online at some point in your life can be found. This will remain even after you die, your digital footprint will remain.

This is really interesting, but what do young people think about this? well...

The article titled Self and identity: raising undergraduate students’ awareness on their digital footprints written by Minelli Camacho,& Grosseck stated that while most young people did realise that they need to protect their professional life "many participants expressed the desire to be themselves online, showing who they really are with little regard for their professional life". (Camacho, Minelli, & Grosseck). This idea that young people are more concerned with their personal online life and the desire to promote themselves will have drastic consequences on their professional life later on.

As after all, the digital footprint really does last a lifetime. Think before you post.

#digitalfootprint #lastsalifetime #smartuseofsocialmedia #professional

References:

Camacho, Minelli, & Grosseck. (2012). Self and Identity: Raising Undergraduate Students’ Awareness on Their Digital Footprints. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 3176-3181.

Moore, S. (2012). Digital Footprints on the Internet. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 27(3), 86-91.

Wix [Comuter program]. (2018). Retrieved from wix.com

All photos are from the Wix- Wix, 2018