Every button you hit online adds to your digital footprint Every time you use the Internet you leave a little bit of your personal information behind This trail is called your digital footprint It is as if you are walking on a trail and leaving breadcrumbs behind Each breadcrumb represents a digital footprint Each breadcrumb is small But together they form an entire loaf of bread Likewise your individual digital footprints are linked They form an entire profile all about you Your digital footprint contains pieces of information It may include your name address phone number and birthday It also contains things you upload and actions you take You are always leaving digital footprints even if they are not visible As you use the Internet your activity is tracked and recorded These records add only a tiny bit of information to your entire digital footprint Your digital footprint grows larger in a very short amount of time Each newly loaded website Like on Facebook and e-mail draft are recorded and remembered forever WHAT IS A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT 1 4
Imagine shopping online for a new pair of jeans First you land on the store’s homepage By clicking on the jeans tab you are taken to a new webpage Clicking an image to view more details opens another page Each action you take is traced and recorded Those actions are part of your digital footprint The more you use the Internet the larger your digital footprint grows Your digital footprint is not a bad thing or a good thing But learning about your digital footprint can help you understand what happens to your information online It can help you see why it is important to be careful about what you share Knowing how your digital footprint works keeps you safer online THINK ABOUT IT How many websites do you think you visit in a day Now that you have thought about it is the number higher than you expected How might the number of sites you visit contribute to your digital footprint 3 1 billion Approximate number of global Internet users in March 2015 Your Internet activity is tracked and recorded As Internet use increases digital footprints grow larger Hundreds of pieces of data contribute to a person’s digital footprint Shopping online leaves digital breadcrumbs behind 5
Have you ever created an account on a website You might have entered your first and last name You probably had to provide an e-mail address People enter a lot of personal information on websites But many people do not think about what happens with that information E-mail chat and social media allow you to share your interests and talents You may think only friends and family can see what you share and write You may also think that deleting information makes it go away forever But information you share over e-mail and social media never truly goes away It often can be seen by many others Future employers college recruiters College recruiters might search your name online DOES MY INFORMATION STAY ONLINE FOREVER 2 6
business clients and teachers may be able to find it It is viewable even if it is years old The information might not be bad But who you are in the future may be different from who you are today What you post on the Internet can be seen by anyone who follows you This is especially true for mobile applications such as Instagram and Snapchat You may also be sharing your exact location Check the location settings on your device to see what you are sharing 76 Percent of social media users between the ages of 9 and 16 who have their Facebook pages set to private Many Internet users do not know how their personal information is used online Things you posted on the Internet in the past can still be seen in the future You could be sharing your exact location so check the location settings on your device 7 Taking selfies is fun but think before you share one online
