Digital footprint
This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. (November 2021) |
Digital footprint or digital shadow refers to one's unique set of
The use of a digital footprint has both positive and negative consequences. On one side, it is the subject of many
Types of digital footprints
Passive digital footprints are a data trail that an individual involuntarily leaves online. They can be stored in various ways depending on the situation. A footprint may be stored in an online database as a "hit" in an online environment. The footprint may track the user's
Active digital footprints are deliberate, as they are posted or shared information willingly. They can also be stored in a variety of ways depending on the situation. A digital footprint can be stored when a user
Privacy issues
Digital footprints are not a
Interested parties use Internet footprints for several reasons; including cyber-vetting,[13] where interviewers could research applicants based on their online activities. Internet footprints are also used by law enforcement agencies to provide information unavailable otherwise due to a lack of probable cause.[14] Also, digital footprints are used by marketers to find what products a user is interested in or to inspire ones' interest in a particular product based on similar interests.[15]
Social networking systems may record the activities of individuals, with data becoming a life stream. Such social media usage and roaming services allow digital tracing data to include individual interests, social groups, behaviors, and location. Such data is gathered from sensors within devices and collected and analyzed without user awareness.[16] When many users choose to share personal information about themselves through social media platforms, including places they visited, timelines and their connections, they are unaware of the privacy setting choices and the security consequences associated with them.[17] Many social media sites, like Facebook, collect an extensive amount of information that can be used to piece together a user's personality. Information gathered from social media, such as the number of friends a user has, can predict whether or not the user has an introvert or extrovert personality. Moreover, a survey of SNS users revealed that 87% identified their work or education level, 84% identified their full date of birth, 78% identified their location, and 23% listed their phone numbers.[17]
While one's digital footprint may infer personal information, such as demographic traits, sexual orientation, race, religious and political views, personality, or intelligence[18] without individuals' knowledge, it also exposes individuals' private psychological spheres into the social sphere.[19] Lifelogging is an example of an indiscriminate collection of information concerning an individual's life and behavior.[20] There are actions to take to make a digital footprint challenging to track.[21] An example of the usage or interpretation of data trails is through Facebook-influenced creditworthiness ratings,[22] the judicial investigations around German social scientist Andrej Holm,[23] advertisement-junk mails by the American company OfficeMax[24] or the border incident of Canadian citizen Ellen Richardson.[25]
Impacts
Workforce
An increasing number of employers are evaluating applicants by their digital footprint through their interaction on social media due to its reduced cost and easy accessibility[26] during the hiring process. By using such resources, employers can gain more insight on candidates beyond their well-scripted interview responses and perfected resumes.[27] Candidates who display poor communication skills, use inappropriate language, or use drugs or alcohol are rated lower.[28] Conversely, a candidate with a professional or family-oriented social media presence receives higher ratings.[29] Employers also assess a candidate through their digital footprint to determine if a candidate is a good cultural fit[30] for their organization.[31] Suppose a candidate upholds an organization's values or shows existing passion for its mission. In that case, the candidate is more likely to integrate within the organization and could accomplish more than the average person. Although these assessments are known not to be accurate predictors of performance or turnover rates,[32] employers still use digital footprints to evaluate their applicants. Thus, job seekers prefer to create a social media presence that would be viewed positively from a professional point of view.
In some professions, maintaining a digital footprint is essential. People will search the internet for specific doctors and their reviews. Half of the search results for a particular physician link to third-party rating websites.[33] For this reason, prospective patients may unknowingly choose their physicians based on their digital footprint in addition to online reviews. Furthermore, a generation relies on social media for livelihood as influencers by using their digital footprint. These influencers have dedicated fan bases that may be eager to follow recommendations. As a result, marketers pay influencers to promote their products among their followers, since this medium may yield better returns than traditional advertising.[34][35] Consequently, one's career may be reliant on their digital footprint.
Children
Generation Alpha will not be the first generation born into the internet world. As such, a children's digital footprint is becoming more significant than ever before and their consequences may be unclear. Due to parenting enthusiasm, an increasing amount of parents will create social media accounts for their children at a young age, sometimes even before they are born.[36] Parents may post up to 13,000 photos of a child on social media in their celebratory state before their teen years of everyday life or birthday celebrations.[37] Furthermore, these children are predicted to post 70,000 times online on their own by 18.[37] The advent of posting on social media creates many opportunities to gather data from minors. Since an identity's basic components contain a name, birth date, and address, these children are susceptible to identity theft.[38] While parents may assume that privacy settings may prevent children's photos and data from being exposed, they also have to trust that their followers will not be compromised. Outsiders may take the images to pose as these children's parents or post the content publicly.[39] For example, during the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal, friends of friends leaked data to data miners. Due presence of children on social media, their privacy may be at risk.
Teenagers
Some professionals argue that young people entering the workforce should consider the effect of their digital footprint on their
See also
- Alternative data
- Behavioral targeting
- Browser isolation
- Data exhaust
- Digital identity
- Internet anonymity
- Internet privacy
- Online advertising
- Online identity
- Reality mining
- Reputation management
- SIGINT
- Social engineering
- Social genome
- Targeted marketing
- UK/USA Agreement
- Universal Product Code
- Web tracking
- Website
- Wire image (networking)
References
- ^ "Dictionary.com: digital footprint". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "What is Digital Footprint? Webopedia. Definition". www.webopedia.com. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Digital Footprint Definition". techterms.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "What is digital footprint? - Definition from WhatIs.com". WhatIs.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Madden, Fox, Smith & Vitak, Mary, Susannah, Aaron, Jessica (2007). "Digital Footprints". Pew Research Center.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ COLLINS, KATIE. "Monitoring digital footprints to prevent reputation damage and cyber attacks". Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "Owning Your Privacy by Managing Your Digital Footprint". Stay Safe Online. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
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- ^ Gardham, Duncan (26 January 2009). "Threat to privacy under data law, campaigners warn". Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ Sprenger, Polly (26 January 1999). "Sun on Privacy: 'Get Over It'". Wired. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ "Digital Footprint: Part 2 | Hueya: Securing Your Digital World". Hueya - Online Privacy Software. 2016-01-10. Archived from the original on 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ 2015nets_adminusr (2019-07-22). "What is a digital footprint?". Netsafe – Providing free online safety advice in New Zealand. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Dalgord, Chelsea (2012-12-07). "Cybervetting: The Hiring Process in the Digital Age". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
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- ^ Wyner, Gordon. "Digital Footprints Abound". American Marketing Association. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ "What a digital footprint? - Knowledgebase - ICTEA". www.ictea.com. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ a b Ball, Albert; Ranim, Michelle; Levy, Yair (January 1, 2015). Examining users’ personal information sharing awareness, habits, and practices in social networking sites and e-learning systems. Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management. pp185
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- ^ Latour, Bruno (2007). "Beware, your imagination leaves digital traces" (PDF). Column for Times Higher Education Supplement. 6 (4): 129–131.
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- ^ Singer, Natasha (19 June 2013). "Ways to Make Your Online Tracks Harder to Follow". Bits Blog.
- ^ Lobosco, Katie (26 August 2013). "Facebook friends could change your credit score". CNNMoney.
- ^ Sennett, Richard; Sassen, Saskia (21 August 2007). "Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen: Guantanamo in Germany". The Guardian.
- ^ "OfficeMax Apologizes After Sending Grieving Father Terrible Letter". HuffPost. 20 January 2014.
- ^ "Border refusal for depressed paraplegic shows Canada-U.S. security co-operation has gone too far". The Star. Toronto. 29 November 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- ^ Broughton, A., Foley, B., Ledermaier, S., & Cox, A. (2013). The use of social media in the recruitment process. Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton.
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- ^ "SHRM Survey Findings: Using Social Media for Talent Acquisition - Recruitment and Screening" (PDF). Society for Human Resource Management. 2016-01-07.
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- ^ "Digital Birth: Welcome to the Online World". www.businesswire.com. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ^ a b "Children's Commissioner's report calls on internet giants and toy manufacturers to be transparent about collection of children's data". Children's Commissioner for England. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ^ "Internet safety for children | Keeping kids safe online | Barclays". www.barclays.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ^ Steinberg, S. B. (2016). Sharenting: Children's privacy in the age of social media. Emory LJ, 66, 839.
- ^ a b "10 Things Your Students Should Know About Their Digital Footprints". TeachHUB. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
- ^ Bates, Cathy (October 29, 2018). "Take Charge of Your Online Reputation". Educause.
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- ^ "Harmful Digital Footprint Impacts That Parents Should Know About". www.fosi.org. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
Further reading
- Arya, Vikas; Sethi, Deepa; Paul, Justin (1 December 2019). "Does digital footprint act as a digital asset? – Enhancing brand experience through remarketing". International Journal of Information Management. 49: 142–156. S2CID 191181989.
- BBVA (2016-08-24). "The enormous data trail we generate throughout the day". NEWS BBVA. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
Have you ever stopped to think about all the data you generate throughout the day? It was the possibility of actually making use of all this data through numerous apps, records and data bases that gave rise to
Big Data.