Be aware of your digital footprint

Ooh, this is something that I have been interested in talking about for so long now! Alright, so it’s currently the 21st century, and the way that we communicate with others isn’t the same as the past anymore. Nowadays, we can easily access technology, and this leads to the rise of social media platforms, where you can chat with other people and post photos of yourself at any time and in any place. This is especially true for high schoolers in particular and teenagers in general: we have a high tendency to communicate with our friends, and we would also like to share what we are doing are to the world, whether it is eating some fancy food or going on a vacation. However, the rise of social media also shows us a very important issue that teenagers can easily face, which is about digital footprint. Basically, the idea of digital footprint is that since social media and the internet are so easily accessible, any information that you share online can be easily spread by a lot of people, including strangers. Because of this, if you are not aware of what you are posting online, it can have detrimental impacts towards you. The platform is already up there, and all your digital remarks are not going anymore, so if you are not using it responsibly but instead doing something bad up there (for example, tweeting a racial slur), even years later, these things can still be traced back to you, and you know what can happen to you… Additionally, this applies very well to high schoolers, because as teenagers, we can sometimes be very impulsive and do something without careful consideration, so it is very crucial that you are awareness of everything you’re posting, or else when the consequences have been there, you can’t just return the time and make it disappear completely…

Alright, so in my perspective, there is an array of things that can lead to negative digital remarks, and one of them is swearing. I know that swearing is something pretty typical of a high schooler, but if you are using it constantly online with bad purposes, other people, including colleges, can trace this back to you. Personally, I would discourage you from swearing if you are posting something public, but it’s alright to use some words of this language if you are texting with your friends. But again, if you want to go free with your words, then it’s better to do so if you are texting with your close friends - otherwise, if you are texting with something you are not that close with, refrain from swearing, since even if you realize it or not, it can be pretty offensive to a lot of people, especially those who aren’t close acquaintances with you.

Alright, so let’s all admit it: we all have had social media before the “appropriate age” for different platforms - I know some that have social media from 3rd grade. Personally, I would agree with the fact that kids should have access to social media later in their life (at least when they are in 8th grade or 9th grade), since if the parents are not aware of this, these children may be doing things without really thinking about the consequences of their actions. I know that this can be pretty challenging for you to do, but if it’s possible, please be aware of everything you have put online. This includes tracking all social media apps that you have (you may have used some apps long ago but now you completely forget it), as well as everything that you have posted up there. This is certainly going to be very hard to do, but there are some things that can help you in this process. When you are posting something, even if it’s on your page or that it’s a comment on others’ post, people are likely to reply and drop an emoji for that comment, hence in the notifications section those things may appear. Additionally, look for all the search terms that you have used: you may have typed those terms to get to some specific places, where you may have posted or commented something!

Lastly, please take responsibility for your bad digital remarks. I know that in your younger years, you may have done something that you regret, but the consequences (if there are any), have already been there, meaning that you can’t just run away from it. Instead, take responsibility for your past actions, and turn these events into lessons that you can take. You know, humans are not perfect, and we are prone to make mistakes, even if that’s intentional or not. However, don’t make any excuses - at the end of the day, it’s you who have conducted that bad thing - apologize and learn from it.