After watching the TED Talk “Reevaluate, Rethink, Release” by Jesse Miller, I’ve begun to think more critically about my digital footprint. Jesse talked about the importance of reevaluating our digital habits and being mindful of what we share through the technology we use. I’ve always been aware that anything I post or share will leave a digital trace, but this talk made me understand how easy it is to find personal information.
When I searched my name, “Lauren Penney,” I found that many other people with the same name appeared before me, but it didn’t take long to locate myself. The first result I found was from 2022, a post by the Cranbrook Townsman about my signing for the College of the Rockies Women’s Volleyball team. The first two links were from the college website, documenting the two years I played there. The third link was my Hudl account, which features videos of me playing volleyball.
I was curious about how much more I could find, so I decided to search “Lauren Penney Cranbrook BC.” This search revealed even more—everything from my social media accounts to articles about volleyball opportunities I received, including a mention of my club volleyball team back in 2019. Although I still found information about other people named Lauren Penney, most of the pictures and links were about me.
I was surprised by how much information was available about me, and I didn’t expect it to be so easy to access. I thought there might be one or two things, but I found more. While my social media accounts are private, and only my usernames and profile pictures are visible, I wasn’t expecting to find much. Most publicly available links were related to volleyball, which I had expected since I had signed consent forms.
This experience made me realize how much and what we post online shapes how others see us—and that perception can be either positive or negative. Even though we might delete something, it can still exist somewhere online. Searching for my name has shown me how easy it is to find information about people.
As I move forward, especially as I prepare to enter the teaching profession, I’ll be more conscious about my digital footprint and will always ask myself how I want the parents of my future students to view me online.