My friends, welcome back! Ready to talk about how to enhance your digital footprint, and also some things for you to watch out for? Awesome. Let's go. But first, I have a quick question for you. If someone googled you right now, what would they find? Maybe your Facebook, or your Instagram page, or your reels, or pictures…or maybe that TikTok dance video that you did a long time ago, or some random comment that you left on YouTube? Maybe nothing.
But here's the wild part: the internet remembers all of it. And in a world where your future bosses, colleges, army recruiters, coaches, girlfriends and boyfriends and even the future you will look you up, your digital footprint matters way more than you think! Your digital footprint is the trail of data that you leave behind every time you use the internet. This includes all of your posts, pictures, videos, comments and likes, your search history, your location check-ins, even the stuff you think you deleted, because nothing is really gone. It's basically your online reputation. Or even think about it as your digital resume – and you're building it every day, whether you realize it or not. Here's a real example that went viral.
A high school athlete, let's call him Hercules. Honey, you mean Hunkules! Sorry, guys. I couldn't resist that. So this Hercules guy posted a funny meme making fun of a rival team. Got some laughs from friends, but also some screenshots which made their way to the rival school, the coaches, parents, and eventually the local news. Believe it or not, this directly impacted Hercules college admission and even some of the scholarship opportunities that he had lined up. Not because Hercules was a bad person, but because one post, taken out of context, blew up and told the world the wrong story. Think of it like this: the internet is like a giant tattoo artist, but instead of ink, it uses screenshots, saved files, your likes and comments, your search history. Even private content isn’t truly private because anyone can screenshot and share and these become permanently marked on your skin, on your character, on your reputation.
If you wouldn't be okay with your teacher, grandma, parents and future boss seeing it, wow… do yourself a solid and don't post it! Okay, let me give you some tools to help you thrive and navigate these waters like a boss.
-Number one, check your settings. My suggestion to you (of course It's your life, my friend) is to make your account private. But remember, private doesn't necessarily mean invisible because people can screenshot and share. But this is a great place to start. One more thing. I know that when people first join Instagram or Facebook or B-Real or Snapchat or other social media accounts, sometimes they go wild and just start adding random people and saying yes to every friend request.
Can I just slow your roll there for a moment? I'm a big fan of saying yes in life and to doing amazing things, but it's also important that you learn to say no, just grow slowly, intentionally, and with a little intelligence and wisdom. Instead of connecting yourself to people and chats that you don't know, and that can harm your digital footprint and your digital passport.
Start with family, friends you know and adults you trust. Resist the urge to feel like you've just joined the race, and you have to gather as many people as you can. In fact, I think your goal should be to only connect with the essential people instead of opening up the floodgates and letting a lot of pollution in. Keep your feeds and accounts clean, fresh and positive and frequently do a little bit of housecleaning.
-Number two, think before you post. I've shared the Think acronym with you as a tool to help you make wise decisions. Can I just go quickly over it one more time?
T stands for "Is it true?" Don't post gossip or share lies.
H stands for "Is it helpful to you and others?" People only positive gossip. Be a source of light and encouragement, not a source of pessimism, negativity and rudeness.
I stands for integrity check. Does it align with the kind of person you want to be?
N stands for nourishing. Meaning, does it add value to your life and the life of others?
And K stands for "Does it keep you safe?" People, remember it. Use it.
-Three, avoid oversharing. Honestly, we don't need a play by play. And I promise we also don't need your personal schedule, address, phone number, and other private information that belongs to you, your family, your friends, and others around you.
Remember that the internet is a real place, not a fake one, so treat it with respect. R-e-s-p-e-c-t baby.
Hear me out. This world you're stepping into has a lot of good. But unfortunately it has a lot of not so good as well. So let your best thinking lead the rest of you.
-Four, Google yourself. Seriously, once a month or every once in a while, see what's out there and clean up what you can do.
-Five, lock down logins. I know we all love usernames and passwords, but I would highly recommend that you use strong passwords, two factor authentication. Because honestly, hackers love lazy security, so don't let them in. Well, let me wrap this up for you and put a nice bow on top. Tour digital footprint is like a bank account for your character.
Every post, like, comment is either building it up or chipping it away. Also, think of every post as a brick. You can build a strong foundation for your future. Or like the three little pigs, you can build a house made of straw and sticks just to find that some big bad wolf will blow it down and leave you with a mess that you will have to clean up later.
The future-you will thank the present-you for making excellent choices today. Trust me. Remember that the internet never forgets. But that's actually good news because if you start now, you can fill your digital footprint with things you want people to find stuff you're proud of. Things that show who you really are and who you want to be.
Keep in mind the THINK acronym to guide you along the way. And always, always be smart. Be kind, and remember you're not just living life, you're building your legacy. See you out there.