How important is your digital footprint?

Your digital footprint includes the pictures, videos, social media posts, emails, tweets, and other content you share on the Internet.  The media and words you post, the people you follow and “like”, and the places you visit can all have an impact on your future opportunities.  Remember, once you post something it is no longer under your control.

Your digital footprint can:

• Influence your admission to colleges. An article in the Huffington Post from February 2011 suggests that 80% of college admissions officers use Facebook to check out students.

• Influence your potential future employer’s decision to hire you. According to a CareerBuilder survey, as many as 37% of employers are checking out prospective employees on social media before they make a final decision.  A Search Engine Journal study suggests that the number is closer to 53%.  Both studies show that the numbers are increasing every year.

• Lead to criminal charges against you. An August 4, 2012 USA Today article shares how Facebook and MySpace posts were used in a court case.

• Lead to school discipline. The digital environment you learn, work, and play in can be a very public space.  Your digital footprint follows you everywhere and can impact you and other students while in school.

Your digital footprint is IMPORTANT, so make it a positive one!Here are two videos on the http://myfootprintsd.com/index.html website from a brave high school student willing to share a couple of her real-life stories.  Please don’t put yourself in a position to have these situations or situations similar to these happen to you.

Please remember that each of you signed an agreement that requires you to be a good digital citizen.  You are being held to a high standard and are required to do the following:

1. Respect Yourself

1. Protect Yourself

1. Respect Others

1. Protect Others

1. Respect Intellectual Property

1. Protect Intellectual Property

Here are some additional resources related to digital footprints:

• Common Sense Media: Digital Footprint Intro

• SchoolTube: Protecting Your Digital Footprint

• Digital Footprints - Your New first Impression

Thank you for taking the time to read this, for keeping your digital footprint positive, and for thinking before you post.

Source:  Mr. Weinert, Director of Technology, Leyden CHSD 212Mr. Weinert
Direct Link to the source