IMPACT OF DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

What is Digital Footprint?

A digital footprint is someone's online presence in terms of their communications, activities and actions on the internet. It includes all references to that person online, including on social media websites, blogs, articles and images.

How does Digital Footprint work?

Any individual can create a digital footprint when they publicly share information about themselves on the internet. Companies store that information, which then translates into search engine results relating to that person. Search engines and databases can find information about people by accessing the content within websites, such as a blog post that mentions a person by name. 

Benefits of digital footprint:

-Rising awareness

-Earning money

-Building relationships

-Gaining fame

Impacts of Digital Footprint:

• Affect someone’s opinion or perspective of you, and ruin friendships and romantic relationships
• Impact your college admissions - college admissions officers visit an applicant’s social media profile including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to learn more about them
• Ruin your scholarship opportunities – any distasteful material or immature posts could prevent you or your child from getting one
• Affect your chances of getting a job or promotion – employers often search online for candidates applying for a position in the company, and a messy digital footprint could cost you that position you were hoping for
• Put your financial security at risk – sharing too much personal information online could make you a victim of criminals. Posting sensitive information could bring identity thieves on your tail, and sharing sensitive media files could make you a victim of stalking or blackmail