Digital Tattoos

Data Mining

Hi all! Some of you may have read my Data Mining Blog from October of 2023. If not, feel free to take a read. In that post, I shared some of my ideas of digital tattoos. This was a new term to me and I enjoyed learning about it compared to digital footprints. To me a footprint can be washed away where as a tattoo is permanent. I think the concept of a digital tattoo really expresses how the stuff we post on social media can impact our lives long-term. I also shared my first and only tattoo in this blog. I talked about the impact it had on me and why it took me so long to decide what tattoo I wanted after my grandma passed away. Here's a quick glance of my tattoo, if you have time to read the blog above I recommend! It shares the meaning of my tattoo that I got last summer.

Photo Source: Author

Overall, this blog shared the information I found about myself through several websites. I found things I would have expected would be on the internet. This really was a learning moment for me to see what all is on the web about me. I think it is important for everyone to do a data mining activity to find out what is really out there. This would be a great activity even for students especially in middle school or high school. This age group of students would most likely understand the terminology of a digital tattoo vs. a digital footprint. 

With that being said, I will not be doing another data mining search on myself this week since October wasn't that long ago. I would expect there to be the same amount of information from the previously blog. So, this week I am going to dive into the topic of digital tattoos more and find resources for myself and students. 

Digital Tattoo

What kind of social media user are you? Find out by taking this quiz! After taking this quiz, I found out that I am "The Normie" on social media. "The Normie" was described as a frequent user on social media but has limited posts. I am active on social media, but I am hesitant with what I share to the digital world. If I would've taken this quiz two or more years ago, I think I would've had a different outcome. While working on my undergrad, I was always posting on social media and sometimes I wouldn't even think about it before hitting click. I also had accounts that were public and while student-teaching I decided to set my accounts to private. However, as I got closer to graduating I started to be more aware of what I was posting and how it could have an impact on my future for getting a job. 

How good are you at spotting fake news? Take the quiz! This was the second quiz I took on the Digital Tattoo website. I was a little shocked at my outcome because I did better than I anticipated. I scored a 10/10 on the quiz. There were two or three of the questions and articles I was viewing that were a little tricky but maybe I'm a good guesser. 

Photo Source: Digital Tattoo UBC

Overall, I loved taking this quiz and think it would be a good teaching resource for students. This would allow them to really think about what they are reading and see if they can check the sources and the facts in the article. This would tie into a great lesson that you cannot believe everything you see on the internet. A lot of times social media and webpages can seem real but many times they are misleading. For myself and others, I believe a TikTok quiz should be created. This would allow people to view TikToks and take a quiz on if it's true or not. I find myself learning new facts and news through TikTok, but I never know if it's 100% true. If I find myself sharing things I learned or came across on the platform, I will say according to a TikTok...

Is it time for a digital detox? Find quiz here! The last quiz I took from the website suggested that it might be time for a digital detox soon. As of now, the quiz shared that I have things under control, but in the future it might be good to limit my screen time because it could affect my mental and physical health. I think I have a great balance between my phone and personal/work life, but I can see in the summer where I have more down time it may create my screen time to go up!

Additional Resource

While analyzing digital tattoos, I came across this video. I believe it would be a great way to start a lesson on the digital world for students. Ms. Debbie Roxburgh shares some important concepts on digital tattoos or footprints. She also explains some ideas on common themes, cyberbullying, and digital citizenship. Overall, I think these are great resources for an educator to create a lesson for older students to be more familiar with the internet, social media, and aware with what they share or find on the internet!