Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand. — Amy Jo
In this day and age can one exist in a modern society without some form of online presence? Disregarding inclusion in compulsory government databases can someone be a functional human being who participates in society without a digital footprint?
Everybody has a facebook account these days
Probably one of the most common sites on which people input their private information and share intimate moments in their lives is the website facebook. In fact it has become such a household name that its founder has even earned his place amongst the ranks of the world’s biggest celebrities by guest starring on the Simpsons…
In an article by the International Business Times one out of every five people in the world’s population have an active facebook account. Although that is a ridiculously large number of people, what about the other four out of five people? Taking into account how many people do not have access to electricity or the internet makes the number even more impressive. Now even though having a facebook account is quite common throughout the world that doesn’t mean it’s necessary to have one to be a functioning member of society.
So now you might be asking yourself “Why did he go off on a random tangent about facebook?” and “Was it just so he would have an excuse to post a Simpsons video?” and to that I would answer… yes, well mostly, but also to demonstrate how wide spread the phenomenon of freely giving personal information away to the world wide web is. From the first time you signed up for an email address you’ve had a digital footprint. Branching out from there you’ve used this address when doing things from applying for car insurance to entering a draw to win a free slurpee at 7eleven. Almost every service these days requires you to provide your email address and some personal information such as name and D.O.B.
Banks are almost universally online
As Kai Ryssdal (2010) states “ Banks are almost universally online. It’s a trend so ingrained that some are now charging fees for paper copies of monthly banking statements.”. Having a bank account is a necessity when living in a first world country in modern society, and so having a digital footprint must also be. Your employer needs someway to pay you your wages, in fact you probably needed an email address to apply for that job in the first place!
Whether you like it or not, if you’re living in society and not off the grid and completely self-sufficient, you have a digital footprint. As services become more and more “online only” our footprint expands, this brings with it improved convenience but at what cost? Does it really matter that the Netflix servers know that I decided to give Sharknado 3 Five out of Five stars? or that the Eatnow servers know how much I love Indian food? I guess that’s up to each user, each digital citizen, to decide for themselves.
References
Fox inc. (2013). Zuckerberg on Simpsons. Retrieved from youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMu2xFxpGmQ
Ditzian, E. (2010). Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook were all over pop culture in 2010. Retrieved from mtv.com, http://www.mtv.com/news/1654364/mark-zuckerberg-and-facebook-were-all-over-pop-culture-in-2010/
Halleck, T. (2015). Facebook: one out of every five people on earth have an active account. Retrieved from International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.com/facebook-one-out-every-five-people-earth-have-active-account-1801240
Ryssdal, K. (2010). Banking without the internet. Retrieved from Marketplace, https://www.marketplace.org/2010/10/28/business/economy-40/banking-without-internet
Syfy, (2015). Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!. Retrieved from youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voLy3ukXYXc
