My Digital Footprint

I think it's crazy that we live in a world where digital footprints are almost unavoidable for most people. It blows my mind that you can basically "Google" anything you want. The internet has become a limitless database. I feel like it has become a norm to Facebook stock or "Google" someone to find out more information about them. Social media has opened doors to people's lives and shared information that would typically not be shared in person. I think being able to research anyone is incredible and creepy at the same time. It's incredible because there is an online library with millions of resources. It is creepy because I didn't know how much of my personal information was out there. There are so many websites that you can deep dive a person, what they like, what their background is like, etc.

I discovered quite a bit about my own digital footprint. The first thing that pops up when you "Google" my name is my skydiving video from July of 2015. Then, there is a link to my Facebook account, Flipagram, school blog, Twitter, classroom blog, school website, and Whitepages. The skydiving video was posted through Skydive Idaho and has a video of my experience. My Facebook account is set to private, so there is no access, except for my profile and cover photo. Flipagram has 8 videos that I created for my classroom blog. My school blog is the blog I have been writing for this class. It has 4 posts available to view. My Twitter account is completely open, you can see all of my tweets. My classroom blog has my weekly newsletter and a few videos and photos from the 2016-2017 school year. My school website has me listed in the staff directory, it lists me as a 4th-grade teacher. Last, Whitepages has my physical address.

I had no idea that I had so much out there. If someone didn't know me and "Googled" my name, they would find out where I live, where I work, what I like to do, and what I am involved in. Any stranger could say "Kayden Tague lives in Meridian, ID. She is a 4th-grade teacher at Whitney Elementary and has a classroom blog. She has gone skydiving and is married to her husband Cameron." I don't really like that anyone could just assume they know who I am. Researching my digital footprint has made me more mindful of what I put out there and what I should protect.