Your Digital Footprint

What is a digital footprint? 

 A digital footprint is a permanent online record about everything you do on the internet, such as gaming, commenting, blogging, and etc. Your behavior online and in public can be recorded in many different ways and even be put online without your knowledge.

Is it better to leave a negative digital footprint than none at all? What is a negative digital footprint?

What some people consider negative, others do not; it  is all a matter of perspective. Take the following for example: Bob, a guy in college, is known for his partying. He and his friends put up many explicit images on Facebook. Then, seven years later Bob applies for a job at a law firm. During his interview, the interviewer googles Bob’s name and all those pictures come flying back right onto the screen. Now, he may be perfectly qualified for the job, but his personal life may influence the interviewer’s decision about Bob’s character. That would be a negative digital footprint for Bob, and he probably would have been better off without a digital footprint of any kind. On the other hand, if Bob ended up becoming a rock star, having pictures like that on his Facebook page might be good for his image, (fans like to see that kind of stuff, and it might help him sell more albums). In this case, it would be a positive digital footprint for Bob.

Thinking twice about what you do online is always a good idea, especially if you don’t know where you are going with your life (such as in your teenage years). Most likely, it is better to not have a digital footprint at all than one that will come back to haunt you.