What is a digital tattoo?
A tattoo is a permanent imprint of ink on your skin, whereas a digital tattoo is the imprint of your identity and activity that can be traced on the internet.
What is your digital tattoo?
There are several search engines you can browse for free to see what kind of information is out there. This type of search is called personal data mining. After performing this data mine on myself these are the results I had:
I first went to Nuwber which showed my name, age, address, property value, relatives, and phone number. I know for a fact the property value was not accurate, but who knows when that was updated. This website also had a lot of "click bait" traps trying to get you to pay for their premium subscription to get more details.
I then went to ZabaSearch which had my name, age, address, and phone number. However, the age was younger, but personally I did not mind that, but everything else was accurate. This also tried to get you to pay for a premium to get a detailed report.
The next I tried was LinkedIn, and my profile was the only one that showed up for the results.
I then tried FamilyTreeNow which had my name, age, birthday, state, and possible relatives. There was another profile with my name but it had my sister's age and birthday.
When I searched PeekYou my name, age, address, any social media accounts, and web search results all for free. Most of the names on social media had my first name but the last name was spelled differently. They actually found my Myspace from a million years ago.
I then tried Intelius which had my age, location, relatives, and fingerprint. The relatives were mainly in-laws from my sister's ex-husband so that was interesting.
And finally, I checked Radaris, which said my age was 81 and had the wrong birthday.
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Reaction and Reflection
Okay! I got my personal data mine finished, and honestly I was very uncomfortable during the whole process. However, it is better to be informed than in the dark. I can see why these websites would be helpful especially if you are hiring a nanny or a caretaker, you want to know who will be working in your house and spending time with family members. I remember one time I worked at a haunted house for Halloween, and we all had to consent to internet background checks. It felt invasive, but at the same time completely understandable.
We all grew up while the internet was developing, but for today's students, these search engines are already established and constantly updating. Since this technology will never go away we, as parents and teachers, must prepare students for the future and make sure they understand why their profiles should be set to private.
Hi, Elena! I love that GIF to help capture the pure defeat when you found that 81-year-old tag associated with your online identity- or not your identity. Those moments are my favorite because it's like we somehow beat or broke the algorithm, which is not under our control at all. It just makes me realize that the technology, yes, is smart, but has more to learn just like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that this whole activity made me feel comfortable. I spent so much time trying to keep my profile so low that no one can find it. Then I spend this afternoon/evening looking for myself. I don't know I want my digital tattoo to be very present. How do you think we can balance this all?
ReplyDeleteElena, I completely agree that educators and parents must teach students about the importance of privacy on the internet. So much information can be found so quickly about individuals - even when they are trying to keep a low internet profile. I too found the experience of searching for my digital footprint unnerving.
ReplyDelete