My Online Footprint

 Until this class I never really considered the amount of information I hand out to companies, and what my online presence really means. Now that I've taken the time to consider it though, there's a lot to be concerned about.

In terms of social media, Facebook, at least, is something I don't have to worry about. I only recently made an account, and I only use it for the photography class I'm currently taking. Once the spring semester starts, I will be happily deleting the account. Other websites are trickier. I have multiple Instagram accounts on my phone, since I run the social media for the Dungeons and Dragons club here on campus, and I have several emails accounts through Google that I use for various things, though only one has my real name since the others are connected to my gaming accounts, which are also under a pseudonym. 

My most active social media is probably my Snapchat, since I use it every day to keep in touch with my friends, especially those that have moved away or are in quarantine, but that, like my other accounts, is under a different name. Even before college I tended to be paranoid about things like this, so a lot of the social media I use casually is under my middle names, unlike my professional accounts. I'm not sure how much that counts for, but it's better than having all of my accounts linked to the one name at least.

The thing I'm most concerned about, I think, is that even though I considered the risks of using my real name and took steps to avoid that, I never took steps to keep my other information safe. I let Google log me into other accounts and remember passwords so I don't have to, I seldom wipe the history on my browser because it's more convenient when it remembers what websites I visit, I let my apps have access to my photos and microphone so that I can use them without getting constantly pestered by notifications. I've started considering exactly how much of my life is online, and now, how many accounts I need to delete just because they aren't necessary.