- Elmwood Park - where I grew up
- Palatine - where I live now
- Normal - where I went to college
- Niles - although I never lived there, my grandma did.
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People
Social Media
Later on I switched to Edge to do more research into myself. I started off by Googling my most common username “ashaw314.” My results were not super exciting, in fact only my Pinterest portfolio.
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Then I decided to try to Google my name, once including and once excluding my middle initial. When I excluded my middle initial none of the results were actually me. However, when I included my middle initial I was able to find my address, age, and previous address right on the page.
When I clicked on the first link, True People Search, I was able to find a lot more information that was in regards to my life. Including a street view of my house, as well as information about my house including how much I paid for it, property taxes, the school district I live in, etc.
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Reaction
I understand why doing a data dig could really stress out a lot of people. However, I was excited to see how my experience would pan out. I think part of the reason I was not too worried was that I do not really have anything to hide. I want to see what other people could find out about me. The only thing I did not love was that people were able to easily find my address. However, that is public record, so I understand that people can access that information.
As far as teaching my students this in school, I do think it is a very valid point for teachers to make. I think at times students have tunnel vision, and they do not realize that whatever they post will live on forever. Having a friendly reminder of this is very important! Many times students have gotten into trouble based on posts they have made outside of school. Knowledge of this can help students to be mindful of what they are posting, because you never know what someone can find in the future.
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI liked that this activity gave us an opportunity to reflect on how we used technology throughout our lives. I also have tried to be mindful with how I used the internet, so I didn't feel like I had anything to hide. However, I did start my online use very young, so I wasn't sure how that would pan out for me. I think having teachers bring up digital footprints/tattoos to their students would be a great help for them in the long run!
I enjoyed reading your post! I agree that it can be exciting doing a deep dive or data dig on yourself. I was also a little surprised on the amount of information the digital world had on people close to me. I was expecting to find information on myself but I was a little surprised to see the amount of accurate information they had on my relatives through me. I think you are right in stating that "at times students have tunnel vision". This is why it is important for students to be aware of their digital tattoo and how it can effect them.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your introduction specifically the quote "Ashley was not always so vigilant." I had a similar experience with my data mine and did not find much information other than addresses, relatives, phone numbers, etc. I have a limited social media presence and Facebook didn't exist when I was in college. Have you taught any lessons on digital citizenship to your students? If so, how do they respond to the topic?
Hi Ashley: Thank you for your thorough description of your digital tattoo adventures. What I loved the most was this sentence "I think part of the reason I was not too worried was that I do not really have anything to hide". Boy is that a powerful pathway towards peace of mind! Indeed the digital world, at least for me, can seem like a monster, difficult to tame, but if, like you, I have nothing to hide, what is there to fear? To me, the digital space, is a place where we can do beautiful thing but also evil things. We will have to decide and teach our kids how to choose the former. Thank you for your post!!
ReplyDeleteBoth students AND adults can use reminders every now and then about being cautious what they put online!
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading along about your experience doing the Digital Tattoo. I also admire how much you covered and how described each section of your search. I think it's great that you felt more excited than nervous about doing the digital tattoo about yourself. I also agree with your point of view regarding how quickly some of these websites found out personal information like where each of us had lived or information about our close family members, the knowledge is a bit intimidating at first glance. But you also make an excellent point about how that information is on public records either way, and the personal information that we can find from those sites aren't too revealing at the end of the end. Great post, Ashley, it was really well organized and presented!