Final Exam Blog // My Social Media Presence

    

My Social Footprint

From a very young age I was always taught to be careful what I was posting on social media. My mom and dad would tell me "be careful what you post because it is not temporary, and is forever!" The more I think about that statement, the more it starts to make sense. For example, you post a picture, but 5 minutes later change your mind.

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Hundreds of people could have seen it, screen shotted it, and even though you deleted it, its still floating around out there somewhere. Anything I post can be pulled up by potential employers, friends, anybody so it is so incredibly important t be educated about social media and know if what you're posting is worth it in the end. 

    I would say I have a pretty large social media footprint. A social media footprint is " is the trail that you leave behind for others to find every time you every time you post on social media" according to socialmediatoday.com. Considering that I have almost every form of social media out there, I would say my footprint is pretty big. Personally, I have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pintrest, Tik Tok and VSCO. I post on my Instagram the most (@peytonrichter) to post pictures of me, my friends, and family (sometimes even my dog Little Bear). I also post to Facebook but defiantly use a different tone when posting on there. I mainly post on my facebook to post photos that I keep in albums, so my distant family can see and comment back. I also will share links and posts of things I think are relevant. For example, my sister was wronged by her high school and was no longer eligible to play in her district golf tournament. I posted my opinions and used facebook as my platform to speak out and defend my sister. I also will share Snapchat stories of things I'm doing in real time, like pictures of my friends and I out to eat, or videos of my dog snoring. I have a "private story" too where only my best friends are can see, that's where I post funny videos and pictures that the rest of my followers/friends don't have to see. I just recently started posting on Tik Tok funny videos of my and my friends and doing dances to popular songs. Lastly; Vsco, Pintrest and Twitter I do not post as much, rather just look to see what others are posting. I will sometimes "like" their posts just to stay active on the app.

    Something I often wonder is what is the first impression somebody will get off of me if they look at my posts. This is especially something girls think of as editing pictures and content has become more popular. If somebody were to look at my accounts they would defiantly think I have a lot of friends, which is true I just post with diffrent friends all the time. They also would figure out where I have traveled before, where I go on vacation, who my sister and family is (who I tag in posts) and where I go to school. If they wanted to dig deeper they could find out my political affiliation, what kind of car I drive, where I grew up more personal details. For this reason I like to keep my Instagram account private so only I can accept people, then they can see my photos/posts. All of my accounts are connected through my email, and phone number. This allows me to direct message people and stay connected to see which contacts of mine are also on the app that I can follow. 

    In a way social media does make me feel sad sometimes. I am constantly comparing myself to people and influencers that I follow wondering what I can change about myself to look like them or what clothes I should buy to fit in. I look at other people and get jealous, which I know is not something that was intended. It does make me happy though, looking at all my friends posts when I'm away at school, seeing what my family is doing, and getting new ideas of things to do/ pictures to post. The Atlantic article mentioned being consumed by social media and that its taken over the lives of many people. For me, I do

 believe I would be a completely different person if I didn't have technology or social media accounts. I don't however think that is has consumed my life. There are many days where I realize I haven't checked my phone all day and people have been commenting and linking my posts. However, I do have days where I am on my phone all day looking constantly refreshing for new posts. 

    Although social media might be an ever-growing concern, I do believe that it can be very helpful for people who are looking to meet new friends or catch up with old ones. It can also be a great way to network for new jobs via LinkedIn or get decoration ideas on Pintrest. And above all, a great way to kill time (scrolling through Tik Tok for hours is my weakness). If taught at a young age like myself to always be careful what you're posting, like making sure alcohol isn't in photos or being certain I present myself in a respectable manor, social media can be a very helpful tool. But if used incorrectly, can be a way to really harm your future. Overall, if you can mange your social media footprint in a responsible manor, less harm can be done to you than if you use it irresponsibly by sharing inappropriate content.