What is the Importance of Digital Footprints?

Digital footprints are traces left by one’s activity in a digital environment. Most adults and many children have them. The easiest way to get a feel of it is to “Google” yourself.

Will Richardson, in a 2008 article for Educational Leadership, titled Footprints in the Digital Age wrote: “As the geeky father of a 9-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, one of my worst fears as they grow older is that they won’t be Googled well. Not that they won’t be able to use Google well, mind you, but that when a certain someone (read: admissions officer, employer, potential mate) enters “Tess Richardson” into the search line of the browser, what comes up will be less than impressive. That a quick surf through the top five hits will fail to astound with examples of her creativity, collaborative skills, and change-the-world work. Or, even worse, that no links about her will come up at all.”

The number of employers who report using Google to screen candidate rises every year. There are still some parents, teachers and administrators who hesitate to allow students to publish their work online. They feel “no news is good news” when it comes to an online presence. This may have been the case a few years ago, but today, ones footprint online is the chance to make a positive first impression. Many employers report using information they found online in hiring decisions, both to hire the candidate, as well as not to hire.

Many young people are sharing and publishing online with little or no adult guidance. They may not be putting their best foot(print) forward.

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Discuss Here: How can you help your students create and maintain positive digital footprints?