Most people do not even consider the fact that all of their information is out there for anyone, with or without good searching skills, to find. In lieu of the information found in a handful of articles from Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, and Fast Company about our lack of privacy online, I decided to do an audit of my online footprint. Even if we are not on the Internet at all, others are pushing out content about us sometimes without our knowledge.
How big is my online footprint? Well, I am a socially active 21-year-old, so it is pretty big. I am active on multiple social media platforms and I even have a professional website for my photography business. I have multiple accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Vero, Pinterest, 500px, Flickr, and probably a few others. Some of these platforms I do not even use anymore. On my business accounts, I have my email up in my bio so that potential clients can reach me. On my website, I have links to my business accounts and my email and phone number live on my contact page. This probably freaks out some people, but it is the easiest way for clients to get in touch with me.
On my social media sites and website, visitors can access some biographic info about myself so that they can get an idea of who I am, and I can create some trust with my audience. My social media sites, more so than my website, give a look into my daily life and my personality. The whole purpose of social media is to be social and put yourself out to the world in order to make connections. Obviously, some companies such as Facebook and some ad agencies take advantage of this by digging deeper and trying to use private information for profit. This is what turns most people off from the Internet, and under no circumstances is that just “the risk that you take.” Your life is your own and you can put out whatever information you want and keep private information private as is the law.
I put out the information that I feel comfortable revealing to people and fully understand the risks of using social media, though I am one of the few people who see social media as a fun outlet for me to be inspired by others’ creativity or philosophies as long as I do not take criticism too seriously or spend too much time online. My personal motto is “Everything in moderation” and this is one of the many situations where something can be fun and engaging when handled in small doses.
Sources:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/facebook-users-still-dont-know-how-facebook-works/580546/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/millions-of-facebook-records-found-on-amazon-cloud-servers?srnd=premium
https://www.fastcompany.com/90359992/an-ad-tech-pioneer-on-where-our-data-economy-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it
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