When I searched for myself online, I was surprised to see a Pinterest account under my name, an account which I had completely forgotten about! Thinking back the account was made for a previous class where I had to create a vision board with ideas and subjects that I am passionate about. At first the idea of anyone being able to search my name on the internet and see this worried me, as I would describe myself as a private person. However, I realized that nothing I had posted was bad and could be used in the future against me. This experience highlighted to me how easy it is for anyone to view my information and get a grasp of my interests and hobbies. For this reason, I like to have my social media accounts private.
However, in certain circumstances there are pictures posted on the internet for my tennis achievements, which are published from other sources. Having this information published on the internet doesn’t bother me as much because I am proud to share my achievements, and I look back at them with pride.
I looked through my other social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram and was happy to see that most of the things that I post are subjects that I love and am passionate about. For example, the majority of my posts are of my friends and family, my dog Milo, animals, tennis, baking, and cooking. I would say that my current digital footprint is a positive one and a good representation of who I am as a person.
When reading “Is Twitter A Stage”, I resonated with the similarity between a “stage actor and social media participant depend on the reactions of their audiences” (page 30). I found this funny and I have to agree with it. An actor working in the theatre relies on the audience’s approval to know if they are doing a good job, and it is the same for someone posting on social media. For example, when posting a picture on Instagram, I tend to look at how many likes and comments I get. I guess in a way I am asking for approval from my followers on if they liked what I posted, which would influence my future posts.
One of the key things that I took away from the TED talk with Nicola Osborne was the idea of being careful about the types of pictures you may post online, such as drinking with friends, as this could have serious implications on future employment potential. I think it is important to remember that nothing is ever private because it is so easy for other people to see your information and it could get into the wrong hands. Also, it is important to remember the impression you are giving other people when posting things online.
Another point that stuck out to me from the TED talk is it isn’t always the posts that I may put on social media that could be an issue. For instance, a picture that my friend posts with me tagged in is displayed as my digital footprint; thus, it is important to know and recognize if my friend’s post is appropriate and sees me in a positive light. Thankfully, I haven’t had to go through the experience of my friends tagging me in a picture that may be seen as inappropriate and displays me in a negative view.
I know that there are ways to limit my information and posts to strangers by setting my social media accounts to private. I feel like I have always been pretty good about remembering to only accept friend requests from people that I know and checking pictures and posts that I am tagged in.
Overall, this module has made me consider any future posts that I publish on social media and if they are a positive representation of who I am as a person. I want to look back in years to come and be happy about what it says about me. Even though social media can sound scary at times, I recognise that having a presence online can be creative and can create excellent opportunities, if I use it in the right way.
Photo by Sara Kurfeb on Unsplash
Sources:
De Kosnik, A. (2019). “Is Twitter a Stage?: Theories of Social Media Platforms as Performance Spaces.” In De Kosnik A. & Feldman K. (Eds.), #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation (pp. 20-36). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvndv9md.5
Osborne, Nicola. “What Do Your Digital Footprints Say About You?”. Youtube. (2016). Retrieved 13 August 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVX8ZSAR4OY
Alice's Blog 
Hi! This blog post is extremely well written and engaging in its structure and writing style. It is definitely a bit intimidating that so much of the information we put online remains there forever, but if it is a good, true, and accurate representation of who we are, it shouldn’t be a cause of concern. I do have a question- it will be wonderful to look back on the kind of person you are at this present time and see how much you’ve been able to grow, is there any way you’ve seen yourself grow through your social media posts now?
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Hi Ian, thanks for your reply! I definitely feel that I have grown over the years on social media. I’m not sure that my posts have changed too much as I have always posted things that I love. However, the way I interact on social media is very different. The last couple of years I have become more aware of politics, the environment, and nature just to name a few. I have become more active in following accounts that I like and support and trying to better educate myself on some of the global issues going on today.
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Hi Alice,
I have to agree with Ian, the first thing I noticed when reading your blog post was how well written and structured it is. You mentioned how there were a few posts on the web about you from other sources and that made me think about how much more athletes may have to worry about with their social media since there is already more of a digital footprint out there for athletes. As a college athlete, do you know of any regulations college athletes must follow regarding their social media? Nicola Osbourne did a great job emphasizing how much your digital footprint can affect your future and how you have to also watch what kinds of posts you are tagged in. This is something every college student using social media should consider.
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Hi Christian, this is a good question! I know that as a college athlete my image on social media is really important, so I have to carefully consider my posts and whether they are appropriate to share on social media. It is important that what I share with others is suitable as my behaviour reflects straight back to the tennis team and university. There are definitely regulations in place that I have to follow, it is just about being sensible about what I post and eliminating things that may seem to harm my image and the university such as partying, drinking and drugs to name a few.
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