Time to evaluate my online footprint: under my name is an Instagram account, Snapchat account, Facebook profile, and a Linked In profile. I don’t have a personal website, but it’s next on my quarantine to-do list.
Most prominently used, and therefore most likely dangerous to me, is Instagram. I’ve had an Instagram since I was twelve years old, and I’ve been posting on in regularly ever since. For the first six years it was a private account, but more recently I’ve been oscillating between private and public depending on my mood. I use Instagram all the time—to keep up with friends and family, to check in on trends pushed by my favorite bloggers or influencers, or to stay plugged into pop culture through memes and humor accounts. A scroll through my Instagram will tell you who I hang out, where I live, where I go to school, who my family is (and all of their linked accounts), the music I listen to and the movies I watch. I don’t hold anything back.
And I rarely, rarely think about the consequences.
Instagram has my email and my phone number; so does Snapchat, and so does Facebook. I’ve always justified it because if I were ever logged out, I could prove that those accounts belong to me. However, if I was ever hacked, that personal information would be fair game.
It’s scary. Even as I read the article “I’m 14 and I Quit Social Media,” I picked up my phone, went to my Instagram settings, and switched to private. I like to pretend that I am in control of my online presence—that because I am not a celebrity, I would never be targeted by creeps or hackers—but that’s a naïve sentiment.
Researching what companies like Facebook are doing is a good reminder that I have to take action to ensure my online safety. I can’t be too careful.
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