Safer Internet Day: Your digital life

These days, we’re all using social networking of some form, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even MySpace. But what you say online can have ramifications for who you are offline.

It’s not just what you say, but also what you post, including images of you and your mates drunk, naked, or doing things you might later regret.

When going for a job, it’s not unusual for companies to Google your name, look up your Facebook profile, or just see what your web presence is like. We all laugh or shudder when a photo turns up of someone drunk or naked at a party, but we’d probably hate it if that photo got us fired further down the track.

“Often people don’t realise that once they post something online, it can be widely accessed and is often there indefinitely,” says Darren Kane, Telstra’s Officer of Internet Trust and Safety. “Something you post online as a teenager might be seen years later by a potential employer or work colleague — so think before you post.”

That last point is an easy one many of us can remember: think before you post.