Is it possible to control your digital reach? How can social media tools facilitate your efforts in managing your digital footprint?

Digital reach is a media analytic metric that refers to the number of users who have come across or could come across a particular content on a social platform such as Facebook or LinkedIn. This begs the question! Can we choose what Ads we are exposed to or could possibly be exposed to on social media. I personally don’t think we’re in control! There are two theories discussed by Sophie Bridge regarding why we see tailored ads on social media platforms. The first being about “the emergence of virtual assistants” like Alexa, Siri and Google Home. Do our phones listen to our conversations? Do we give them too much information about us? Facebook in recent news have been brought to court on the accusation they’re exploiting their users by “spying” and releasing information for advertisements. The second theory being that of highly intrinsic algorithms i.e. “how many people are talking about it” or “Breaking news item”. or by clicking “yes” to cookies(S.Bridge,2017).

We live in a world today where everyone is connected and interlinked by the use of social media sites. Unfortunately, most people sign up to these sites without knowing what permission they’ve granted to use. Through my learning this week I’ve discovered what default privacy settings entail and how I can reduce my personal data that can be leaked out. It is vitally important that people are aware of what they are putting up for people to see. Before you post just think! Could this have any future consequences or would I like this to be said about me! There has been studies/cases that your digital footprint can hamper your employability … “can inadvertently give others an all-too accurate” description of yourself (Keogh,2018). This could cause you to be misjudge by the posting of something years ago or by posting something that could be viewed as insensitive to others.

In conclusion to this weeks blog, although social media brings many benefits to our modern day life, we should be mindful of the negatives such as lack of privacy or the bombardment of Ads!

References:

O. Keogh, 2018. Should you Ease your Digital Footprint to progress your career? Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/should-you-erase-your-digital-footprint-to-progress-your-career-1.3434973

S.Bridge,2017. Is Social Media Targeting Ads Based On Our Conversations Available at: https://www.terrafermamedia.com/social-media-ads-conversations/