This paper concludes some information you may not know. Some people may think I do not post enough family pictures or even talk about my family for that matter on the social network sites such as Facebook. What I have to say to this is simple, “My social accounts are not a diary so, stop trying to profile me.” However, one question we should raise as parents is this; Is my child going to grow and accept his/her new role in the digital realm only to realize his/her parents went camera crazy?
MOM?!?! Why did you post this? And for crying out loud mom it was posted back in 2012 so there is thirty years of page views on my images and god knows who has been creeping……I know I am crazy and a little leary but, it is better to be safe and secure then shit out of luck and sorry. Before I post anything I have this in the back of my mind reminding me...Cyber Space is just like Outer Space. Unknown to many...
What is a Digital Footprint?
When a person walks, can they see their shadow? Only if the conditions are just right, for example the sun needs to be out and it must be clear skies. Can people see their digital footprint? If the privacy settings, cookie settings or all other software settings are set to enable for public viewing this can be visible to anyone on the Internet. Digital footprints are a trail or a shadow that is left behind while browsing the internet and information on that session is saved indefinitely. It is a permanent record of a person’s interaction through a computer in the digital world. It is a computer users’ favorite Web site that makes them laugh, their favorite cooking blog, or social network that helps connect them to the world. A digital footprint starts to mold when a computer user displays public information about them on the Internet.
Within the Internet a digital footprint are words used to describe the trail or traces that individual’s leave through their computers on the Web. An digital footprint are made through emails, attachments, even uploading videos, digital images or any other form of displaying a computer users name, address, phone number GPS location through Google Maps. All form of display leave traces of a user’s personal behavior, information that is made directly available to the public. Moore (2012) author of “Digital footprints on the Internet” states, “Anything that has ever been online, even if deleted by the user, is still searchable. Just because it is not on your computer or in your “trash” does not mean it is not still out there in cyberspace”(pg. 88).
A digital footprint can easily be identified by typing a computer users’ full name into any search engine. This is the easiest way to see how the users name is being viewed publicly. When reviewing the Web sites that have any trace of a person’s information in the search results. This may make a person become upset, distraught, violated, and very angry, I know, I felt this way so I cannot be alone in feeling like this. I typed in my full name and almost like magic my name appeared and it was attached to Web sites I used to visit years ago that were still attached to my name. I immediately went through everything, feeling that some photos of my children could be visible. I went in and changed the settings to private or completely deleted blog posts and profiles. However, in some cases like newspaper articles with the announcements of the births, deaths, or criminal indictments obviously there is no way around this. Some things are just public.
Digital footprints are a fragment of hidden information that is carried with an individual as they browse the Internet. Many people are unaware of digital footprints. This includes children, teens, young adults and older individuals. However, with the rise of technology most people are adapting to computer ethics that are not taught but, informed through self-teaching and research. Some parents use online monitoring systems that can be used to track teens online browsing behavior, by frequently checking the teens settings to be sure nothing is public. Doing this cuts down on lingering eyes, criminals and solicitors. Miller argues this point by saying, “Texas mom Stephanie Ochoa created Eye Guardian, an app that monitors social media sites for objectionable material. Parents receive an alert through e-mail or texts when Eye Guardian spots such content, whether it is a picture or a text that can indicate cyber-bullying. When parents log into their Eye Guardian account, it will highlight the offensive material”(2012, p. 2). There are many software programs out there that can help manage and combat the behaviors children have in the physical realm as well as in the digital realm due to their digital footprint. Miller states in her essay, “A June study of 1,004 teens from online security company McAfee found that 70 percent of teens reported hiding their online behavior from their parents in 2012, an increase from the 45 percent who gave a similar answer in a 2010 survey“( 2012, Pg. 1). With statistics this high, criminals could use this to further their agendas.
Digital foot prints are also used by criminals. One scenario in mind is picture taking with the software application called Instagram that is downloaded onto a cell phone. Taking pictures of places and immediately posting online with those settings to public could attract a predator. With the pictures tagging your location by global positioning service, to a predator with a public posting showing the exact location as well as who the computer users’ are, what they look like, and also what time of day it is all combine to give predators’ easy prey.
Digital foot prints can be can be used to help in criminal investigations or cold cases. With the amount of information left behind in personal chats, postings, Google searches, gives investigators a starting point to any investigation. Vololino states,” When you use digital forensics to pick the mind of a criminal you can definitely find and you use the evidence in a criminal trial to convict or find innocent in a court of law” (2008 pg. 9). Digital footprints give Cyber forensic teams’ access to the browsing history of criminals that use computers. Piecing together mysteries by using traces of the criminals’ web behavior are very detrimental to the defense in current court cases.
There are some very positive outcomes that shed positive insight to digital foot printing. Through monitoring and education, digital footprints can be routine as logging into email and non-threatening as taking a stroll through a park. Digital footprints are something computer users should be aware of every time they log into a computer.
Danielle Coleman
References
Coiro, J., Kajder, S., Welch, M. (2011). Digital footprints. In Scholarly Journals, Language Arts. retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/903238309/abstract? accountid=27965
Miller, S.S., (2012). Tracking teens’ digital footprints; parents concerned about safety, privacy can find help.; parenting. In Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Pg. OZNR7 retrieved from http://capella.edu/library
Moore, S. (2012). Digital footprints on the internet. In International Journal of Childbirth Education
27(3) P. 86-92 retrieved from http://capella.edu/library
Volonino, L., & Anzaldua, R. (2008). Computer forensics for dummies. In Chapter 1: knowing what your digital devices create, capture, and pack away—until revelation day. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc. (pp. 9-23). Retrieved from http://capella.edu/library
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