What is a Digital Footprint?
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Image credit: Kira Schwarz from Pexels
Almost everyone has made a footprint in sand at some point. Some of us might even have 'paint' footprints from a preschool art activity proudly displayed on a wall in your home. But what is a digital footprint?
A quick online search will find plenty of definitions. The NSW Department of Education (2019) gives us a nice and simple definition:
'Your digital footprint is the record of all your interactions online'.
The video below by Common Sense Education (2013) also explains it well.
What this means is that your digital footprint is made up of things like:
Apps and programs you use, for example, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.
Websites you visit, for example, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Your browsing history (things you search for in Google).
The comments you read and the comments you leave.
Images and videos you look at as well as images and videos you upload.
Comments, photos and videos that other people tag you in (even if you didn't want them online).
These are just a few examples; everything you do online is a part of your footprint; even if you delete something or are browsing 'incognito' (using private browsing). Thatcher (2014) states that we are both passive and active in our interactions online. What this really means is that we leave data behind in 2 ways. The graphic below explains it.
Image Credit: John Curtis from Flikr
So now that you know what a digital footprint is, and what it is made up of, how are you going to care for your own digital footprint?
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