The idea of a digital footprint is something that people have been trying to tell me about for years. I was a child that grew up right in the middle of this digital world. I have had a Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook account since I was eleven. My life has been all about social media since I got my first iPod touch. I still remember how excited I was when I got my first Snapchat account.
My digital footprint is something that I have been creating for almost ten years now. I will say, what my digital footprint looked like has not been something I was aware of for all those years. People like my parents and teachers did tell me about how the internet is forever and that anyone can see what I post, but the idea of forever didn’t seem real to me. I have always been a pretty smart poster, but I was still a child who thought she was unbreakable. I never had any of those scary stories happen to me, and I am so thankful.
Nicole Lee’s “Having multiple online identities is more normal than you think” is exactly how I use my social media accounts. I have a Snapchat account where my life “ is raw and more visceral”(Lee, 2016). My “Instagram is for friends and people who know me through the internet.”(Lee,2016). Lately, I have been feeling as if my Instagram is too public. I have made my account private within the last couple of years, but I was always concerned about my numbers of followers so I allowed everyone to follow me. This created my followers and account to become more of a popularity contest. Then VSCO became more popular and that became my account where I posted what I wanted. My VSCO is where you see who I really am and what I really love. My “Facebook is for keeping in touch with family and friends”(Lee,2016). This is where I post my wholesome picture that I want my grandparents, aunts, and uncles to see. I get to see all my baby cousins grow up, I see all of the reposts my grandma makes about politics. All of my different types of social media accounts are “indicative of how multifaceted human beings are.” (Lee,2016).
I was very fortunate that my mom was very strict with me and never let me have any social media accounts until I was in my late teens. At the time it really bothered me and I was always upset with her but looking back at it and how my friends were that had social media at the same age you did. I really didn’t miss out. they were starting to show signs of insecurity and getting bullied online and did some things they regretted online as well. They had built a digital footprint around the same age you did. I can honestly say now I have thanked my mom for holding me back from having those platforms at such a young age and letting me just be a teenager in a time where the world is going upside down.