I am from the generation that had to learn about our digital footprint in secondary school. It often felt like it was still being understood when I learned about, but it was something we were told. That the internet was forever, even if something was deleted. That we did not know the effect our words could have online because we did not see people like we did in real life. We were warned what we did online would follow us forever. We were told our digital footprint was everything we posted, searched, looked at, everything. There was an element of fear that if we clicked on the wrong site, it would follow us forever.
I decided to start by looking up what a digital footprint was. Tho government of Canada website states that our digital footprint is “the trail of data you create while using the Internet. This trail of data comes from the websites you visit, the emails you send, and the information you submit or download online,” (Digital Footprint). Our debit card purchases are also part of our digital footprint, our cars track our speed and how many kilometers we drive, and our images are captures by the cameras everywhere around us (Staying Safe Online). From what I was told in secondary school, this much seems the same. The site goes on to explain that there is active digital footprint and passive digital footprint. Active digital footprint is the things we do intentionally on the internet, such as posting on our social media accounts or filling out forms online. Passive digital footprint, on the other hand, is the things the sites we visit do without our knowledge using our IP Address, such as using location tracking (Digital). This is the part that I think needs discussion more so than posting. The thing I do not know if I believe in, though, is if we should live in fear like I got the impression of when I was in high school. Mistakes made online can follow us forever, but most things done online are normal things everyone does.
I am planning on teaching in elementary school, and at one time even with phones, a digital footprint was less of a concern for elementary age students, but phones are being given at younger ages, and more freedom given. I think what a digital footprint is needs to be taught to younger students now, and if teaching a higher elementary grade, the worry of photos might need to be taught during discussions about relationships or puberty. When I was in high school, there was the worry of sending inappropriate photos and what others could do with these images. I was in a generation where images were shared without permission, and we heard about tragedies of girls who’s photos were posted publicly. Some things that I was warned about seem very common knowledge now, such as not posting SIN numbers, for example, but likely still need to be said. The video “Staying Safe Online: Digital Footprint” outlines the bad, inappropriate pictures being shared, people sharing too much of their information, or being filmed while drinking underage, for example. These are worries, things kids need to be taught, that background checks will occur in their lives, for post-secondary, for a job. Students do need to understand that “[digital] data cannot be washed away, a permanent footprint,” (Staying Safe).
For teachers, we are held to be good models for those we teach. Our digital footprints should, by this logic, be something that shows we are good role models. As teachers, we should understand what our digital footprint is, know how to teach our students what their digital footprint is, and understand the permanence without making it a paralyzingly scary thing as this is the world we live in, and I do not think we should be scared or scare our students into never wanting to use search engines, have a social media, etc. Instead, we should be smart internet users, and teach students to also be smart internet users.
As we move forward, we need to remember to be smart about our digital footprint and find ways to keep it strong. This goes beyond teachers and students, but should be kept in mind in schools as well. This poster to the left shows tips for a strong digital footprint and I think this shows how we should think about it and teach our students. Number 2 and Number 5 might be the easier to think about, showing the best of ourselves and thinking of long-term impacts. The use of “don’t post it unless you’d be okay with your parents seeing it” (Staying Safe) can work as well. I heard this when I was a teenager and while it may get eyerolls from students, it is still something they may think about after the fact, when they are going to actually post something. This saying always stuck with me because it helped to understand how public the internet is and that if I don’t want it getting back to my parents, it should not be online. With all of this, I think that while we can teach that our digital footprint is growing and encompassing more and more of our daily lives, I want to re-iterate that we should not be scared of it and should not have any reason to be scared of it as long as we remember to be smart digital citizens.
Sources:
Boudlaie, Hassan, Abbas Nargesian and Behrooz Keshavarz Nik. “Digital Footprint in Web 3.0: Social Media Usage in Recruitment,” Administer, no. 34, 2019. Accessed 16 October 2023. http://dx.doi.org.prxy.lib.unbc.ca/10.17230/ad-minister.34.7.
Canada Centre for Cyber Security, Government of Canada, “Digital Footprint (ITSAP.00.133).” https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/digital-footprint-itsap00133. Accessed October 12, 2023.
Learning Zone Express, “Staying Safe Online: digital footprint,” 2010. Produced by: Chris Jones & Associates.
Image: “Five Tips for a Strong Digital Footprint,” UpSavvy, Published: December 27, 2021. Accessed October 12, 2023.
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