This week study has been very informative and has helped me understand some of the components of what it means to have a digital footprint. I realize that when we become digital citizen’s we develop a digital footprint. A digital footprint is established from our online activity. Our online activity could include purchases we make online, social media activity, and how you share information with apps and devices you use. After examining my own activity in these areas of internet access I am aware more now than before that I do have a digital footprint and it is my responsibility to manage it. Managing my footprint means that I must regularly examine my presence on the internet and purposefully put positive information to identify myself by.
It is interesting to note that data is collected of my online purchasing. Retailers are using this data to secure additional purchases from me based on my buying habits. These ads can be annoying I usually click to stop them. This is the down side of this data collection. I can say I have had a positive experience recently when I purchased a microphone for my husband. I was online checking my email and an ad from the company I purchased it from popped up and showing the item on sale for 50% less than I purchased it for. Now I had purchased it almost 30 days before and the company had a 45 day price guarantee to match a cheaper price if advertise. I called based on what I saw and they honored their new sale price and issued me a refund. So I have had something positive from the data collected by the retailer’s data collection.
My social media activity is limited to Facebook and I have posted a partial resume on LinkedIn. I use Facebook for birthdays and keeping up with my relatives. During Hurricane Harvey I used it to contact relatives that we were concerned about and had not heard from and visa-versa they contacted me. Cooking is one of my things I do to relax me so one of my friends has a cooking feed and I get recipes regularly from it. I don’t check it daily but at least once a week. Also, I created a twitter account to use to for academic purposes but I never post only view National Geographic, Edutopia, ISTE, and Lamar’s activities because I am alumni and my youngest daughter is a student. I have chosen to use social media at this time very sparingly because I am not completely confident that my use of it will be an asset to my digital footprint at this time.
Sharing my personal information with apps and devices I frequently use is another area of caution. My mobile phone is use as a communication device principally. That means 80 % of the time I talk with a voice to other people. I find that texting tends to be the communication tool of choice by most of the people I know. If I text it is to respond to someone who has texted me, confirm a doctor appointment, or make sure someone who needs to call me calls back. Giving access of my cell phone data to multiple apps concerns me since I know it store personal information about me. I do not store medicine prescriptions there, identification (driver license and social security number), credit cards are not put there, and no medical history.
In conclusion I have been cautious about things that are a part of my digital footprint up to this point. I have learned things that will continue to help me manage my digital citizenship. The section on Net neutrality has help me to become most aware of some of the rights that need to remain protected to continue to have the freedom of use we have now. I am a digital citizen and I must establish behavior that is responsible and respects others that are a part of this worldwide citizenship.
References
[C-SPAN]. (2015). FCC chair Tom Wheeler on open internet rules (c-span)[YouTube].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfVR0C2HHSI&t=63s
[Common Sense Education]. (2014). Oversharing: Think before you post [YouTube]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyjd73tUXig
[Common Sense Education]. (2013). Digital Footprint – what digital footprint are you leaving online? [YouTube]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P_gj3oRn8s
Empowering Others With Knowledge 