Over the course of my career in education, I have witnessed many things come and go. Sometimes what left us seemed to be better than what replaced it, but as they say time marches on. One example of this can be seen in the process of hiring staff for schools. At one point in time, the most important part of an interview was the reference check. Sure we still do them, almost as a token of days gone by. What has replaced this all important step in the hiring process is a quick Google search to see what kind of digital footprint the candidate has left behind. How important is it for an adult or a child for that matter, to be aware of their own digital identity and of the footprint that they are leaving behind. What role do we play as educators in supporting students through the digital mine field? Marlena Batchelor writes in her CEO Magazine article the following quote from Andrew Wessels CEO and founder of The Marque (digital auditing company): “These days it is a red flag if you have no online presence, so it is about controlling your digital footprint – not hiding it.”
So with that being said, the notion that no online presence is considered just as much of a red flag as a somewhat questionable one, then our role as educators is to ensure that our students have the understanding that their digital identity is their real life identity. Times have sure changed since John Maxwell penned in his April 23, 2013 article entitled Character: who we are on the inside. In that article he said: “Our reputation comes from what others believe about our outside. Our character represents who we are on the inside.” The problem with his statement is that in today’s world our digital identity and footprint, which is open for the world to see, also reveals our true character.
That is why it is so important for us as educators to teach digital citizenship to our students so that they know right from wrong. So they know the importance of maintaining a positive digital identity and footprint online. So that they can become positive members of society in the real world and the online.
Feel free to drop a comment or let me know your thoughts on digital identity and the footprint that we leave behind.
How times have changed! I never really thought of it from the perspective of no digital footprint is a red flag as well. (Although Facebook is my number one tool I guess in looking up new people I meet or people we encounter for various reasons)
I like the quotation you mentioned: “Our reputation comes from what others believe about our outside. Our character represents who we are on the inside.” Our digital identity represents who we are in the world. Your digital identity is made up of thousands of data points that make up your profile and your preferences. Your digital identity is scattered across the Internet: Facebook owns our social identity, retailers own our shopping preferences, credit bureaus own our creditworthiness, Google knows what we’ve been curious about since the birth of the Internet, and your bank owns your payment history. As a result, we are all profiled in detail to predict our future behavior and monetize our digital identities.
Your post makes me reflect on my own digital footprint. The more I think about it the more convinced I am that in today’s world I probably wouldn’t be hired. There is very little evidence of my classrooms efforts, and those that exist (like Google Classrooms) are confidential as I have responded to student comments and requests within them. One thing that I often fear is that the permanent nature of the internet will only give someone a small snapshot of who I was at that time (rather than who I currently am). Thinking back to my first couple years of teaching maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that my early lessons aren’t available to the world.
Hi Darryl,
Your post brings up some very important points about the lasting impression of our digital footprints and our role as educators in helping students navigate this digital landscape. As soon as possible, students must realize how the lines between digital persona and real-time human being have blurred – which is why fostering healthy digital identities is so important. Just as we teach them a code of conduct in class, so, too, must we help them create one online as respectful digital citizens. I know the concern always comes up that so much of their online lives are experienced outside of our control (and often not controlled or monitored by parents), but I think we just have to do all we can and hope something sticks.
Very interesting idea that “no online presence is a red flag”. I also find that highly questionable, Daryl. It is as if the assumption from an employer would be that if you have no digital footprint then you must have something awful to hide. I appreciate your perspective of the hiring process, something that many of us will only ever be on the other side of. While it is true as you say that our digital footprint can show our true character, I think the one-dimensionality of the internet and the complete stripping of context in certain areas can really give employers a skewed perception of character.