1. How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Give at least two examples.

Everything we post online is permanent and can be accessed decades in the future. Although, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If I keep an appropriate online footprint, my future employers might hire me instead of someone else with an inappropriate digital footprint. It’s only when I deviate from good behavior online that I should worry about my online life affecting my real life. Especially if I got into the world of politics where the media and other politicians research everything about backgrounds; including online comments.

2. Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.

By keeping the acronym THINK in my mind, the digital footprint I leave behind should remain appropriate and welcoming to all. I can also keep my online profile in check by treating others how I want to be treated and by remembering that everything I post online is permanent. With all three of these statements with me, I shouldn’t have to worry about any receipts coming back to affect me in the future.

3. If you could go back in time, is there anything that you would do differently online? Think of what advice you would pass on to your younger self or other students.

I would tell my past self that the internet is a dangerous yet brilliant tool for learning. Using it with the proper intentions in mind can make the difference between excelling as a person, or tumbling down a steep hill of regret and dread. I wish I could have explored more of the internet’s vast knowledge as a kid to learn how our world works on a scientific and mathematical scale.