Digital Tattoo/ Data-mine

This weeks digital tattoo lesson really opened my eyes to how our information is “tattooed” on the digital world. Throughout my life I have seen many displays of digital tattoos while browsing social media, however I never knew that they could be defined as tattoos. For instance, I have seen many exhibitions of tribute on Facebook once somebody passes away or displays of love on all forms of social media such as statuses and pictures. It was fascinating to consider that these simple displays of pride, love, religion, status, etc. are essentially tattooed onto you as it is a presentation of yourself that will stick with you forever.

            This idea correlates with the data-mine activity as well. Our online presence is not temporary. Our digital tattoos become our digital image that says something about ourselves. The stranger data-mine activity truly showed how you do not even need to physically meet a person to know very personal information about them. Thus, we must be concerned about what we are throwing out into the Internet for all to see. We want to have a positive digital image that shows we are good, marketable, and significant people. There are so many sites that allow anyone to access your information, thus we must be careful. After participating in the activity, it was scary to see how much information is out there on people, therefore it is important to use the Internet wisely. I really enjoyed this lesson for it carried an important message along with it; our digital tattoos are our digital image, so lets make it a positive one!