We are living in the world of George Orwell’s book, 1984. I read it a number of years ago, but each year I see more and more in our world that correlates with that book. Yikes! When first I read it, I remember thinking how odd it was that there were cameras and microphones everywhere, but that is the world we live in today. So interesting that it was written so long ago. I keep thinking that I want to reread it and just need to take the time to do it.
I’m not crazy about the idea of living in the world of 1984, but there are so many good things that it doesn’t seem too bad. However, sometimes I wish things could be simpler again. My kids are just old enough to remember simpler times, but my grandkids will not experience that. I sometimes wish they could.
I’m one of those people who probably care too much about what others think about me, so I’ve been very cautious about my digital footprint from the beginning. Even so, whenever I’ve applied for a job or volunteer position, I’ve done pretty thorough reviews of my public self in preparation as part of the process of filling out applications and updating resumes. So this is not the first time I’ve Googled myself or taken a high level view of my Facebook profile or Twitter account.
My name is a common one, so most of the time you have to add some other information, such as middle name or maiden name, or city and state to actually find me. Not too long ago, I did this and was surprised to find my voter records right away. There my full name, age, address, family members, party affiliation, voting status, and even street view of my house were posted for all to see. They did have my phone number wrong though.
Through another browser and a similar type of site, I found my high school, year I was born, and every address that I’ve lived at since 1983. They had an incorrect email address and employment listed though. I was happy to see that my reputation score according to this site was “good” with a 4 out of 5. Not sure where they got that.
Not surprising, my Facebook and Twitter accounts were prominent. In Google images, I only found two. One was linked to my EdTech 502 website and one was linked to my MET portfolio, so both professional and attached to good information about myself.
All in all, it was a positive footprint that I found, however there was more information about me out there than I would like to see. Even when you try to protect yourself somewhat, it’s not entirely up to you. It’s easy to see how identity theft is so common.
Photo attribution:
“Footprint” by Fil.Al is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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