LIS 724: Digital Tattoos

 

                           Introduction - What Are Digital Tattoos?

    Hello, blog readers! I am sure that many of us are familiar with the concept of tattoos, illustrations of ink imprinted onto body parts as permanent reminders of one’s achievements, milestones, love, loyalty or religious beliefs. However, those aren’t the type of tattoos I’m going to be talking about today. I want to share with you, readers, what I have learned about digital tattoos this week while researching my own tattoo online. A digital tattoo, also commonly known as a digital footprint, is the amalgamation of an individual’s searchable presence and personal information made available online across different websites and social media platforms, accumulating into a collection of pieces related to someone’s identity, career, hobbies and relationships. Where very different concepts, a digital tattoo is similar to an ink tattoo in that both are permanent reminders of one’s past, or at the very least, incredibly difficult to remove entirely from existence. Although having records and remnants of one’s activity across different platforms may be intimidating, it can also be beneficial for personal and professional relationships, such as helping to keep in-touch with friends, having information made available when networking with work colleagues or potential employers who are looking to make an informed decision when hiring someone.

                                              My Digital Tattoo 

Image source: Personal Photos of Lizzy Prain, Created Via Google Chrome.

    Earlier this week, I studied digital tattoos and researched my digital tattoo across several sites to see what I could learn about my online presence in the results. I used the search engines of two different browsers for this task, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. In order to ensure that the search results weren’t bias and personalized to my experience, I logged out of my accounts, allowing me to discover my digital tattoo with a blank slate. After searching my full name of “Elizabeth Prain,” along with variations of my nicknames of “Liz” and “Lizzy” as my friends and family most often call me, in both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge’s search engines, I was surprised by the top results I found. Within my results for Google Chrome, what came up were primarily results for app profiles and marriage certificates for other women who shared my first and last name, but are unrelated to my family and I. I found that surprising as my surname is a fairly obscure Germanic family name. Whereas, in my Microsoft Edge search, I found my Facebook and school records within the first few pages. Top results for Microsoft Edge were multiple articles for a TV news anchor who shares my name but is off by one letter. However, in those searches I eventually found my online profiles, including my family members, and I even found this very blog in the results!

Image source: Personal Photos of Lizzy Prain, Created Via Facebook.

Image Source: Personal Photos of Lizzy Prain, Created Via Facebook.

                                                      What's in a name?

Image source: Personal Photos of Lizzy Prain, Created Via PeopleFinders.

    I searched variations of my full name in different combinations across a variety of sites and platforms, including Facebook, Youtube, PeopleFinders, Classmates, PeekYou, FamilyTreeNow, Nuwber, and Spokeo for my Digital Tattoo research. While most of the sites gave me back results for multiple women with my same name, I found public records about my name, hometown, and family members with a few quick searches of my name on PeopleFinders. I was a bit concerned, but ultimately, there wasn't anything too personal online. I think teaching mindfulness and increasing awareness of what is or isn't shared on the internet would be important for students, knowing what to share and when or with who, are important skills for anyone, but especially for younger generations who live their lives online. When searching through Facebook gave me my profile, it also has a seemingly endless list of women who also have same or similar last names to my own, accounting for variations in spelling. While I have other social media profiles, such as Twitter and Pinterest, they did not turn up in the search connected to my name due to the fact I utilize usernames for other social media sites.

                                                      Conclusion

Just wait until he learns there's a Dr. Strange in Gotham City too. Image source.

    I honestly surprised by the results I found researching my digital tattoo. While I know of course, that it was publicly available information, such as information about my family members, family photos, where I have gone to school or where I have lived, I still am taken slightly off-guard by how simple and quickly the search brought back personal information about myself. I think this assignment search highlights the positives and negatives of having an online presence. Even a fairly shy person like myself who mainly uses usernames on social media could be found with a name search. I think digital tattoos are a great asset for networking in a professional field, or connecting with friends and family, but I can also see how it could potentially be misused information, or people may become misinformed about a person through outdated or incorrect information on people finding sites such as my family having people who are not related to us put on our family trees by mistake because they happen to share the same surname as us, or employers may come across the Facebooks and Instagrams of people share the same first and last name but they’re no the individual they’re hiring, for example. Overall, I found my digital tattoo research to be an interesting project, and I think it is a good reminder to also be careful with information that is shared online, because you never know where you’ll find it. Who knows, readers, maybe you can research your own digital tattoos, they may just surprise you!