Digital Footprint

To start, a digital footprint is an online reputation that people like employers and other members of the community can look at to see what you post and find out information about you and your lifestyle. A positive digital footprint, could show things like information about an internship you have been participating in or awards you could have won. Having a positive digital footprint is important because say you got an interview for the job you have always wanted, and they look up your social media accounts to see what type of person you portray yourself to be and it is all bad information and irresponsible acts about or revolving you, your chances to get that job could go down. Positive things posted like an indicator of the applicant’s personality and groups that the applicant are involved in.

Students can create a positive digital footprint by promoting the things in their life that are looked at as a positive achievement and or good feedback from someone else about them. “If someone is working hard, being creative, helping others or receiving awards, then surely promoting these skills and achievements online is a good thing.” (Jalger) Posting things about yourself that promote that you are a good choice to be offered a job or that really sells someone that you are a good candidate are always things that should be accessible to the public view. Students can also partake in things like blogging. “Blogging is an excellent way to showcase your interests and skills online.” (Jalger) Having your name being attached to things that showcases how passionate you are about a topic can easily display how you have good communication skills. Blogging every week or even every few months still shows improvement among yourself, along with the achievements you make.

Having a negative digital footprint means that public things posted of you or about/concerning you could have an affect on someone’s perception of you. Maybe you have a very professional work life but only post things on social media that show you party hard or love your days off a little too much, that could ruin your chances of getting that high end job that you were hoping for. Simple things like negative comments on a post or negative reviews concerning your name could also create a dilemma in your professional life. At the end of the day, posting things that could ruin your professional or social life is not worth it especially when at the end of the day social media isn’t supposed to run your life anyway.

“Digital Footprint Film Poster” by mrmayo is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.