eSmart

Self Image and Reputation

Your digital footprint is permanent, so it's really important to think about the online image you want others to see.

You work out what people are like by reading what they say and looking at what they post online - so don't ever forget that other people do the same thing about you.

Your digital footprint can be a permanent map of the journey you take to becoming your adult self, so think about how much of what you're experimenting with you'd want made public in a month, a year or even five years.

Remember that, even though there are some things you just don't want someone to know about, it's very hard to limit who sees what. 

Before you say or post anything online, use the 'school assembly' rule: if you wouldn't want something held up, read out or displayed at your school assembly, it's safer not to text, post, email or chat about it over your phone or the internet.

Some employers and universities look at your social networking pages when they're deciding whether to give you a job or a place on a course, so it's always worth thinking about the future before you text, post, email or chat.