Tech Task #4

I googled myself. The results were surprising... I did not realize how many people are also named Justin Rowe. Interestingly enough there is a well-known artist named Justin Rowe and a semi-pro basketball player as well! I looked for quite awhile to find a trace of myself on google but I wasn't able to find anything. After awhile I narrowed my google search down. I searched "Justin Rowe Brandon" on google. This produced different results. Suddenly my digital footprint was revealed! There were a couple of ads I have posted on eBrandon as well as the preliminary website I have set-up for my fiancee and I's wedding. 

This "self-google" task made me aware of my minimal digital footprint. I don't feel like this is necessarily a bad thing. In general I am a private person and it is comforting to me that my business is not all over the internet. However, I also must consider that the world is moving towards a very "online-based" society. Interactions between people are increasingly moving into the online sphere. It may not be a bad idea for myself to start building a healthy and positive online identity. 

In terms of protecting my online identity I think it is important to use security features online whenever possible. I always use multiple passwords and rarely put personal information on any of my social media profiles. One thing that is often overlooked when engaging online is always making sure of the "https://" status of a website. The "s" at the end ensures that the website that you are browsing is a secure website and will not endanger your online identity. 

As I commented on in my "Flipgrid" I truly believe that people have both an online identity and a IRL identity. After reading about the idea of digital dualism I am a strong believer in the idea. Of course, there are exceptions. However, most people put only certain aspects of their lives online and filter out the rest. This creates a very different online persona as compared to who they are in real life. 

In my humble opinion I believe that schools need to make online identity education a priority. All students of today are online in various ways, We as educators need to educate them on how to put a healthy and positive persona online. If we do not teach them about the dangers of negative online interactions they could get themselves into bad situations online. I intend to educate my students about online literacy using the variety of lessons provided on mediasmarts.ca.

I will leave you with this image!