Protect Your Digital Footprint

Why is it important for college students to protect their digital footprint?

To help parents understand the importance and impact of protecting their college student’s digital footprint, we asked Arizona State University’s Jason Manning, Executive Director, Digital Media and Strategic Communication, to provide some insight and advice. Here’s what he shared.

While social media and the Internet can be a useful resource, it can also expose young people to things like identity theft, financial loss and cyberbullying. Why is it important for college students to protect their digital footprint?

Young people should understand that in return for the “free” service and entertainment provided by many social media networks and popular apps, they are giving up a portion of their privacy. Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok gather personal information from users of their platforms in order to earn money through targeted advertising. Some of these companies have even broken their own policies and rules that are supposed to keep personal information safe. Young people should know that their actions in the digital space are being tracked and recorded. What they say, who they interact with, and where they are physically located at any given time is all being archived.

Young people should also be taught, from a young age, that it’s incredibly easy for criminals and abusers to obscure their true identities and intentions on the Web. They should be extremely careful not to share identifying information. They should almost never share their name, physical location (including address), identification numbers, or other sensitive information on the Web or social media. They should be extremely wary of individuals who approach them via digital platforms. A good rule of thumb is to never share sensitive information even if it appears you are sharing with a person or organization that you know.

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