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There are many different steps that I feel I need to take in order to change my online presence. I will be referencing a powerpoint that we discussed in class this semester that outlined the many different strategies for building and editing your online presence. 

The first step in creating my online presence is to address the question of “why” (C.Fulton 2024). By this I mean, why do I want to create and edit my online presence, why do I care about my image online. As a student who is working towards an academic internship in September, and as a part time supervisor in a prestigious gymnastics company, it is extremely important for me to have a coherent and respectful presence online. This means that the content online related to me that I have posted or interacted with should link to my values of how I want to be viewed by my peers and superiors. An article entitled Managing your Digital Footprint possible implications for teaching and learning, discussed the implications of being linked to content online that you do not feel represents you or your values “Those who do not take control of their own digital presence additionally run the risk of allowing others to define their identity for them through tagged images, comments ect…”(Osborne & Connelly, 2015). 

The next steps would be to create your story and outline your goals (C.Fulton 2024). Creating your personal story online means deciding how you want to interact online and what steps need to be taken in order to create content that aligns with the story you want to tell. For me personally I feel that before this module I was creating content without a decisive plan of what story I was trying to tell and this made me feel that my social media pages were incoherent. Now, after taking part in a number of interactive activities in this module I feel that I now have a clear outline of the stories I want to tell online, for example I know that I enjoy posting aesthetic pictures and reposting videos on that relate to the people I am friends with and the work that I do on a day to day basis. To achieve this, I now post content on a regular basis to ensure that I have good engagement, and I keep track of the interactions on my page and specific posts. In this module we also discussed the influences of social media influencers online and how they use social media to tell stories and engage with the public, after learning more about this I now pay close attention to the people that I follow online and keep track of what they post, ensuring that it aligns with my own personal story I want to tell. The following quotation comes from an academic article entitled Digital Identity and the Online Self : footprint strategies - an exploratory and comparative research study, the article discusses the importance of being aware of your online presence. “It is crucial to ask users directly about their goals and consequences regarding personal digital footprints in general.lAsking these kinds of questions usually prompts users to reflect on the philosophical question, ‘Who am I?’ In the context of personal digital footprints, this question is updated to, ‘Who am I online?’ This related question is an important aspect of the changing technological environment that shapes society and culture.”(Feher, 2019)

Understanding my online audience is another very important step in ensuring that you have a coherent online presence (C.Fulton 2024). Who do I want to follow me? Who do I want to be associated with and who do I want to discuss on my online platforms? For me personally, reflecting on my social media platforms and who follows me, I feel that I now have a good understanding of the fact that the majority of people who regard my social media and who follow me are in my age group and are in college or who work with me. By learning this, I now have a better understanding of what to post on my pages and what to be wary of. I am aware now that the content I am posting needs to be respectful and relevant in the future i.e will I be proud of this content in the future and am I aware that the people seeing my page may take offense to certain content or may take my content and use it unethically. This article from Queens University of Charlotte discusses how your personality can be seen through your online presence“As long as you are careful to not post inappropriate or offensive content on your personal social media accounts, allowing your personality and interests to shine through could help employers gain a glimpse into the unique individual you are and confirm how you might fit with a company’s culture”(Personal & Professional Social Media Identity | Queens Online, 2020)

Overall to conclude this reflection, I feel that I am now ready to take control of my online platforms, by this I mean that I am ready to take all of these steps into account and change how people view me online. Reflecting on who I was before this module I am happy that I now have a greater understanding of how to present myself on many different online platforms. 

• The right to remove that which you have put up - On instagram you have the right to delete any content that you have posted by selecting the post you would like to remove from your page and select the delete option 

• The right to know who has access to your data and for what purpose - Instagram will not share your personal data with anyone without your explicit consent. 

• The right to safety and support - instagram is an extremely safe platform and on this platform you are able to report any unethical content or statements. Instagram will always do its best to address concerns 

• The right to informed conscious use - there is always information available to help you understand the risks and benefits of using instagram as well as many tips for staying safe online 

• The right to digital literacy - There is always information available to help you navigate instagram seamlessly as well as a lot of educational content available.