Let's Visit the Internet, but We Can't Stay Long!

I remember that, in middle school, my family got a Word Processor. It was very exciting. No Internet, no games, no mouse. Just simple typing and printing. We had a typewriter, but this new fancy machine had a screen! I was amazed that I could type something, see it all at once, then print it out on paper. Boy did I waste a lot of ink those first few weeks. My family didn’t get the Internet until I was in High School and it was dial-up so we had to either use the phone or the computer. I remember downloading a Tim McGraw song and it took 90+ minutes. How times have changed!

Image source: www.vecteezy.com

As a teen and young adult with free-range access to the Internet, I never thought about how I interacted with others while on the web. I never really cared about it. I created accounts, uploaded pictures and filled out forms using all my information. I was a veteran resident.

Resident: Someone who openly interacts and displays their social life on the Web. One who posts pictures, comments and stories online that others can see and interact with. A big part of their life lives on the Internet.

Until my third year of teaching, several of my seventh and eighth-grade students found many of my accounts and friended me. They also looked at all of my pictures. Including pictures of me taking shots at a bar wearing a tube top, among others. I was mortified. I quickly deleted several accounts, changed my user/ profile name and turned what I could into private accounts. Then I turned that experience into a teaching moment. I told my students that what you put online is there forever. We talked about being a good digital citizen. 

Image source: www.pinterest.com

Now that I am an adult, a mom and an educator, I try really hard to not leave a digital footprint. While plotting my own digital experience, I was shocked to see how little of a resident I was. I am a proud visitor.

Visitor: Someone who uses the Internet to achieve a goal or answer a question. One who browses quickly doesn't leave comments or opinions and is worried about their privacy. They are a tourist: they come, they see, they leave with nothing left behind.

I am very present on Instagram but that’s really it, and my profile is private. I do use TikTok however, my profile is private and I don’t usually post comments. I have 6 videos, so only my 12, or so, followers can see them. I use Google for mostly work.  I Googled myself and I only have 1 hit that is really me. It is my work bio. I really wish that it wasn’t there. I hate knowing someone could look up my name and where I work. From my digital map, you can see I am a strong visitor.

Image source: personal image via Canvas

Interested in seeing more Visitor and Resident maps? 

Check out this Padlet put together by David White. 

However, looking at the table below, I would identify more as a resident (purple arrows). Although, I strongly disagree with the statement about banking and shopping online. Banking and shopping online have a specific purpose. I would categorize that as being a visitor. 

Image source: https://medium.com

I looked at my iPhone’s “Screen Time” setting and I wasn’t surprised to see that a majority of my time on my phone is spent on social media apps. You can see the picture below in the last week, over 18 hours on social media sites combined, that's really embarrassing. I used my computer a lot for work and most other things. During the work week, I am a visitor for sure. I am not on social media while supervising children. After work or on the weekends, I am more of a resident. 

Image source: personal photo

In conclusion, I still think of myself as a visitor. I interact with a lot of sites on the web, and I make sure all of mine are private. I honestly want to leave nothing behind on the Internet. Just like camping.