My Digital Tattoo

Digital Tattoo

What is a digital tattoo? For starters, I am not talking about the temporary electronic tattoos that a person can wear on the skin. I am referring to a person's digital presence online. A digital tattoo focuses on information about an individual that can be found on the wide world web and also any sort of activity online that can be traced back to an individual. 

Now that you understand the definition, have you ever done a search on yourself on Google? Many of us will say "Yes." I will say I have done a quick search, but I have never taken the time to see how much information is out there on me. Was I scared of what I would find? Honestly, my time online has always been limited as a teenager and when I was in college, so I assumed I would not find a whole lot. 

My Data Mine

This week, I am focusing on my data mine. Here is what I found: 

Google:

I searched for my name and the first result was a known result. It was my social media account on Instagram for my Color Street business. I noticed that a lot of the other results were for other people named "Sara Belvin." I found it humorous that others have the same name as I do. I honestly did not think it was a popular name at least as far as I knew. 

Image Source: Google

As I scrolled down further, I came across an image of me in my Mothers of Preschool group in 2015 in my local newspaper. Talk about blast from the past. I was a celebrity in my local town for a week. I found it interesting that one of my results reflected on a book I read and logged on Goodreads in 2022. Why did I not see other books that I have logged? 

Radaris:

I had never heard of this site before, but quite a bit of my personal information was on there ranging from old addresses to places of employment. One piece of information, I was surprised by was it showed all of the social media I had ever been on. Not all of the information was accurate, so I am not sure if my information was mixed in with the other "Sara Belvins." There was a section where Radaris showed Youtube videos that were linked to me. All of the videos did not belong to me, but again another "Sara Belvin." 

Image Source: Radaris

ClustrMaps:

ClustrMaps had an option to where you could search by address or people. I entered in my name and my results showed two addresses that I had previously lived at. I would have to say the information was inaccurate. The first address in my image below shows my current address. The address in Belleville was actually the first home my husband and I lived at after we were married. The second address shows an address in Washington. The results states I lived there in 2018. I wonder where they found this information, because we moved from Washington to Illinois in 2013 and still currently here. 

Image Source: ClustrMaps

Spokeo:

The information here seems well laid out and organized. My current address shown is my previous house that I lived in four years ago. As I scrolled down the page, the site shows four addresses I have lived at. I was only confused when I saw my current address there, but not at the top of the page. Other information, such as phone numbers were blocked out. In order to access this information, I would have needed to pay. 

FastPeopleSearch:

My address here was correct, but the year that I moved in was incorrect. The information seemed accurate as far as addresses I have lived at. There was only one address that was questionable. It was an address in Florida and I have never lived in Florida. There were also relatives shown that were traced to me that I have never seen before. 

FamilyTreeNow.com:

I tried searching first with my married name and current location and came up with no results. I then thought to myself, why would anything be under my married name. I then searched my name with my maiden name and where I lived before I got married. The same results came up: nothing. 

Nuwber:

My name did come up in the search. It showed the usual information on there such as previous addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. What I did find interesting was when the site focused on my profession. It stated I wanted to have a career closely related to cashier, which I found interesting. I do have my undergraduate in accounting and had a few cashier jobs during my teenage years. 

Image Source: Nuwber

Reflection

I have to say after examining several other sites, I feel like I live a very private life. I found basic information which could be taken from real estate transactions, address changes after many moves, and of course limited information taken from social media. Some information of course is public knowledge, when you buy or sell a home. Most of the information I did find, did not surprise me for as active as I am online. I try to be cautious about what I share online.

After taking the time to look through these sites, it made me wonder about my own three daughters. What information is online about them? As a parent, you try to protect your children, but you can only do so much. I remember the conversations I had with my kids as they used the computer. There time was limited, but as they grew, I feel like they were exposed more later in elementary school. 

The importance of teaching our youth safety online and what you share is so important. Children are accessing iPads and computers at a younger age, so I would say Kindergarten would be a good age to start. I have found that CommonSense.org is a useful site to use that has resources on Digital Citizenship for grades K-12. There are videos, lesson plans, customizable resources, and bilingual materials on the site, so I feel this could be something that could be used in collaboration with teachers, school librarians, and parents. It is important for everyone to be informed of how much of their life is online.