Digital Tattoos

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I have three tattoos on my body. Two of the tattoos are very small and are meaningful to me. I put thought into the design and placement. I had one done with my sister, and the other was done the day I graduated college. The third tattoo is another story though... It was an impulsive decision that I regretted less than a month after it healed. I'm currently 7 months into tattoo removal for the large, colorful doodle I have on my hip (only 7 more months to go). Tattoo removal is a painful and very expensive process. I wish I never went to the tattoo parlor for that third tattoo. I could have saved myself time, money, and effort.

Our digital presence, or digital tattoos, are very similar to body tattoos. We share content that we like whether it's creative, expressive, religious, a tribute, or medical. This information can be public or private depending on settings. Once we've made a decision to share something, it can be very difficult to erase its existence regardless of our privacy settings. Although my mom was diligent about monitoring my social media accounts in high school, I've definitely tried to erase proof of some cringe-worthy posts from the past. Unfortunately, some friends and family have saved or 'screenshotted' these posts making it even more difficult to erase proof. 

As a prospective educator, I am constantly thinking about my digital tattoos. Will students' parents search my name? What will they see? Will they be directed to my LinkedIn page or the YouTube videos my friend and I were uploading in 2007?  It wouldn't be the end of the world if students or parents found my personal posts, but I would like to come across as a professional, competent educator. 

So I searched myself to see what others see...

Personal Image from google.com

I searched myself on a few different search engines, and I am mostly content with what I found. I Google and Bing searched "Sarah Flaherty" and "Sarah Flaherty Illinois". "Sarah Flaherty Illinois" resulted in my LinkedIn account and my personal Instagram. Searching my name directly on LinkedIn and Facebook pulls up my profiles on both accounts. Searching my name directly on Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube resulted in 100+ other Sarah Flahertys. I am fairly content with these findings. I would like employers, parents, and students to see my LinkedIn profile, and my social media accounts have privacy settings. Ideally, my professional online presence (future accomplishments, my personal website, etc.) will be at the top of the search results.

There were some results that I found confusing. I tried two background check websites - Instant Checkmate and My Life. Instant Checkmate spent 20 minutes loading before telling me that there are two criminal charges connected to the name Sarah Flaherty in Illinois- and I can view these criminal charges for just $30. I exited out of the website, because I know I do not have any criminal charges. However, it is slightly disheartening to think that employers or parents may see similar messages if they searched me on this website. 
I am most confused by the information listed on My Life. 
Personal Image from mylife.com
My birthday,  hometown, and ethnicity are correct. However, I am not a registered Republican. I do not identify as Christian. I am not married. I do not recognize any of the family members or associates listed. My net worth is way less than six figures, and I don't own a $395 home. This information was incredibly confusing to me. I searched the rest of my family members and most of their information was correct. I tried to make sense of it, but I'm still unsure why I am listed as a married Republican. 

 
All in all, I am pleasantly surprised by my digital tattoo. It is important for everyone to be cognizant of their digital tattoos, because some things are hard to fix once they've been posted (or tattooed on your body). Parents and educators are responsible for teaching children how to use the internet safely and effectively. If a child is posting on the internet, they should be taught about reputations and repercussions no matter how young they are. What they post now could have long term effects. 




Comments

  1. NMZumpanoJune 20, 2019 at 3:17 PM

    This is a great post. Thanks for sharing your personal story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Toni's Tech TipsJune 21, 2019 at 7:26 AM

    Hi Sarah,
    Thank you for sharing about your personal tattoos. It is interesting to hear the meaning behind them. A friend of mine was a police officer and would get tattoos to represent his career. Again, I grew to love them after seeing the enjoyment and PRIDE it gave him! Just another way for each of us to share our personal stories!

    I too was surprised by some of the data that was found on my digital tattoo. It is interesting how much is stored and how much there is out there! Thank you for sharing your story!
    Toni

    ReplyDelete
  3. nkonkelJune 22, 2019 at 7:49 AM

    Sarah,

    I am exactly the same way- I have 4 tattoos and all hold deep meaning to me. I am sorry you have to go through the removal process, hang in there!

    I like that you pointed out that you wonder if parents might search you. I feel like since we are younger teachers, a lot of parents are close to our age, and social media is so huge- parents are definitely more likely to search us. I know teachers who look up their students' parents on social media, so it even goes both ways! I am very careful to keep all my accounts very private.

    I also found some incorrect info like my salary, owning a home, and other random facts. But there was also many correct things. That's the scary part- for someone looking you up, they can choose to believe whatever they find about you!

    Thanks for the post.

    Nellie

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJune 22, 2019 at 11:17 AM

    Hi Sarah ,
    I really enjoyed reading your post ! Your post did a great job of connecting your real life tattoos to your digital one. I think this kind of anecdote could really resonate with students. I had to laugh when you talked about parents google/ searching up teachers because at our most recent parent conferences I had a parent tell myself and my teammate that he had tried to google us to find out more about us because the family was new to the school this year. Although I don't often google other people I have had students try and google me all the time and families. I think that information collecting style is really interesting because I always wish I knew what information they are hoping to find that they don't feel comfortable asking me directly about. I really enjoyed your post ! Thank you ! - Emily Dubicki

    ReplyDelete

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