There are two types of digital footprints or ‘identities’ as defined by Beck, E.N. (2015), visible and invisible.  One describes visible interactions on the internet for social media or communication purposes such as Facebook or Twitter.  The other and more ominous is the invisible tracking, surveillance, data recording etcetera that navigating the internet stores on your machine or is collected and sold to companies for advertising purposes or to customize internet experiences.

In the digital age, cookies and web-beacons go hand in hand with a good internet experience.  Some programs installed by websites while we surf the internet serve to increase the efficacy of our experience, but others routinely cause issues related to identity theft, phishing scams, impersonation or stalking (Anina, 2020).  Although, some of the invisible footprints are not intended to cause us harm, sale of what some consider private information to data companies for advertising is considered unethical (Beck, 2015).

There are some precautions that users can take to avoid the impact of their visible and invisible digital footprints, but how far are we willing to go to hide our true identities online?  And in that case, at what level of hiding do we begin to alter our online experience with a persona that is considered manufactured?  In fact, when does it become an unhealthy practice to alter our personalities and experiment with false identities (Camacho, 2012)?

Negative aspects of digital footprints aside, using Twitter, Facebook and an E-portfolio has changed my professional networking positively.  Not only can I stay in touch with long lost friends or find an acquaintance from years past, but I can easily connect with people of like mind and share documents to increase the efficacy of my work.  My digital footprint also works for me.  People can contact me, provide me with services, consults or information without me having to retrieve it myself.

References

Anina OT. (November 19, 2020). Why You Should Care About the Tracks Left By Your Digital

Footprint. Retrieved from https://www.makeuseof.com/tracks-digital-footprint/

Beck, E. N. (2015). The Invisible Digital Identity: Assemblages in Digital Networks. Computers

and Compositions, 35, 125-140. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2015.01.005.

Camacho, M., Minelli, J., Grosseck, G. (2012). Self and identity: raising undergraduate

students’ awareness on their digital footprints. Procedia – Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 46, 3176-3181. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.032.