My Digital Footprint

I have never really thought to much about a digital footprint. I always had a basic understanding that whatever you post on the web is permanent, so in my mind I never really wanted to post a lot of information to the web or on social media for a fear that one day I may regret it. For me a digital footprint has always seemed negative and I never wanted a permanent record of everything I do.  However in learning more about this course and reading Ainslie's "yes you should have a digital footprint...and keep track of it",  I agree that having a digital footprint is so important especially in today's day and age. I guess before I would associate digital footprints as being negative, however now I can see that making a positive digital footprint is actually better than making no footprint at all.

http://nationaledtech.com

Positive digital footprints are not only what you post or share but they can also be how you interact with others on the web. A lot of people think that just because you are online that you are protected and hidden behind your screen, when in fact this is the exact opposite. Below is a link of real life stories of young teens who were affected by cyber bullying and took extreme measures. http://puresight.com/Real-Life-Stories/real-life-stories.html. It is a said reality that people bully others online, and not only are they hurting others they are hurting themselves as well. What you say and do on the web is always going to be there, and for those people who say these harsh things they are building a very negative footprint.

 A good example from my own life is when I was in high school and one student in another class was making fun of a teacher over Facebook. The mother of the child who received these messages printed them and gave them to the teacher. This example shows that nothing you post online is safe or it may not just be seen by its intended recipient. In both cases my high school cohort and these people who cyber bully should learn Netiquette. They are simple rules for anyone who uses the web just to remember to be respectful. My favorite is "remember the human". If people who make fun of others online just stepped back for a minute and realized that this person is human too maybe this would be less of an issue.

Digital Drivers Licence

After taking the drivers license exam and skimming the nine elements I can say that I am well informed about these 9 elements. I scored 20/20 however there is still much I can learn. One main element that I would like to learn more about is digital security. I have fallen victim to viruses and too often have not backed up important data. I would like to learn a lot more about digital security and the best tools and programs to use in preventing future problems.