My parents barely use any social media, the only one being WeChat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. Neither of them are very tech-savvy, and therefore they did not give me advice, nor monitor my social media as a kid. I had never heard of anything like a “digital footprint” and, for a long time, I was under the impression that deleting a post on Facebook or a picture on Instagram meant it was permanently deleted from the Internet for good.
It wasn’t until in middle school where I learned the truth about being safe online. I was finally taught the importance of being cautious about what I put online. Since then, I’ve done my best to be careful about what I reveal about my self, and have done a pretty good job in keeping a clean digital footprint.
My Online Footprint & Personal Website
I have a larger online footprint than I’d like to admit. I own an account for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Twitch, and Linkedin. I don’t use most of these frequently, and some I don’t use anymore at all. However, they all still have some information on them from myself. Some of them have my full name, and many of them contain information about my personal interests, such as the games I enjoy and music I like.
I do have a personal website. This website is made to showcase my work as a game design student. I use my personal website as a portfolio so potential employers, as well as game design industry members, can see my work and potentially hire me. I have a section for games I’ve created, personal art pieces/game art bibles, and an “About Me”. This website shows my full name, personal email, Linkedin, and game dev Twitter account.
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| A small section from my personal website |
My Social Media Accounts
The first social media account I created as a Facebook account when I was 11 years old. However, I did not post things for years; the only use I had for Facebook was playing games like Farmville 2 and Restaurant City. I only started posting on Facebook when I entered high school. In high school, my main uses for Facebook were to post photos about my life as an online “album” and keep updated with my high school’s marching band. Last year, I used it to keep updated with my sorority and Greek life events, but now I don’t use it for anything at all.
I used Instagram much more actively in middle and high school than in college. I would post pictures from vacations, concerts, and winter guard competitions. In the past year, I have posted 5 times, with the last one being from nearly 6 months ago: 3 pictures about my sorority, 1 from a fun photoshoot with friends, and 1 about a BLM protest I participated in.
My Twitter is used as a casual place to showcase what I do in terms of game design. I post about art and 3D model WIPs and games I create. I tweet on it pretty irregularly, but I take extra care to make sure I do not tweet or post about controversial things that could be seen as unprofessional or problematic.
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| Screenshot from a game I created |
I use Pinterest regularly for a variety of different interests. I save pictures of art tutorials and references, fashion that I like, ideas for my bullet journal, college dorm tips, writing prompts, and nail inspiration. It is a place that I draw a lot of creative inspiration from. I also use Reddit, but I am a “lurker” on that website, which means that I read through posts and comments from other users more often than I post and comment myself. Most of my posts and comments have to do with posting pictures of my bullet journal, which is a hobby that I’ve been very into since my senior year, as well as voicing my opinions on certain TV shows I like.
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| My "bullet journal" Pinterest board |
My Twitch.Tv account is the social media site I use the most. It is a website that people can use to livestream to viewers, and is most commonly used for people to watch others play games--but streamers can also do non-gaming activities, such as art, “just chatting”, and more. I stream pretty regularly as a way to connect to other people who enjoy games and meeting others as much as I do. I mainly stream games such as League of Legends, Stardew Valley, and Among Us, but I also stream art and other variety games. Many streamers use their webcam to give their stream a more “personal” touch, but I go a different route. I am careful about what I reveal about myself on Twitch because I stream under an alias; viewers know my first name but not my last, and since I don’t want too much information about me revealed, I stream using a virtual avatar.
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| Virtual Model I use for streaming on Twitch |
The last social media I use is LinkedIn. I don’t use LinkedIn too often. For me, its main purpose is to look at job listings and have recruiters be able to find me. I also use it to connect with professors, friends and industry members I meet. I make sure to keep my LinkedIn professional and clean, and list out a lot of my achievements and accomplishments to ensure that I look my best.
What information Have I Given Out?
As stated previously, I do give out a decent amount of information about myself on the internet. It varies from each of my different social media accounts. My Pinterest shows a lot of my interests and hobbies (interior design, journaling, writing, art), while Twitch shows only a few (games and art), while Reddit mainly shows that I like journaling, The Office, Hell’s Kitchen, and Taylor Swift. I like to think that the information I have given away is relatively harmless, and can’t easily be used against me in the future.
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