It is incredible how much you can learn about someone just by browsing the internet. I remember when a friend finally convinced me to join Facebook and I literally spent HOURS searching up people’s names from high school and just from my hometown in general and scrolling their profiles. I don’t think there was much when it came to privacy options at Facebook’s launch because you could find out what “anyone is….” Or “everyone is….” doing at any given moment!

Read the article about embarrassing Facebook statuses here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hanifahrahman/00s-facebook-statuses

 

You could accuse me of being a cyber sleuth. Actually, I would just wear that badge proudly!

My go-to when someone asks me if I know someone or if someone new comes into my life that will be hanging around for more than a day or two? I’m scouring the internet for them. Some people’s digital footprints are huge! Think Bigfoot sized! Others remain impossibly hard to find. But I can generally track someone down to learn a little more about them. Maybe it’s a little creepy and I have likely wasted a legitimate portion of time on these tasks, but I do like a challenge!

When it comes to cyber-vigilantism I do believe that there are lines that can be crossed. People do terrible things and make bad decisions, this isn’t anything new, it’s just that now we see or hear about it within seconds sometimes.

 

There are posts, groups or articles that I’ve come across that I have wholeheartedly disagreed with, but I’m generally not interested in engaging with someone knowing that it’s going to lead to an argument.

 

 

 

Take into consideration that Estevan has a population of  approximately 11,000 people and this Rant & Rave group has over 4,700 members who mostly just complain; there’s rarely a compliment. I refuse to join these types of groups because I feel like they spread negativity and when there’s strength in numbers and those numbers are fuelling a negative cause… LOOK OUT. I do have friends that have joined these types of groups and they speak about specifics from time-to-time and it’s generally not good!

{This video circulated online about two months ago and caused absolute mayhem for our city counsellors. The information iterated in this video is incorrect or skewed and has been the source of a petition calling for a referendum in my community}

It’s also not in my nature to “take someone to task” over something that they’ve done when posted online. That being said, I have reported posts on Facebook that had the potential to be damaging. I consider myself to be a confident person who has compassion for others and my moral compass is pointed in a positive and well-meaning direction. I will stand up for things that I believe in and voice concern over things that could potentially damage a person or my community.

I feel like our worldviews are influenced heavily by our upbringing, but where we live, as in a physical location of our province or country, often times dictates a common mentality.  This becomes blatantly obvious at election time, but this post is not turning political! In life we all find our people and your people might not be my people, and that’s ok, but at the end of the day, respect needs to be at the forefront of our online presence and our daily real-life activities.  We need to be mindful of the footprints we are leaving in our digital world knowing that it will follow us wherever we go.

My final sentiment for today: