Your Online Presence

Your online presence might not be something you think about as much as you should. Just for a second think about all the accounts, emails, websites, and videos that might have information about you out there. Your "online footprint" is what you leave behind that someone else can come across and learn from. For example I often find myself on Instagram. Someone who runs into my account on Instagram would first come across my bio, a profile picture, and a private account. All you could tell from my account without following it would be the username to another social media account on a different platform (in which you wouldn't find anything about me until I had approved your request). 

The effects of social media on a persons mental health is very noticeable. Going online to an app like Instagram you are shown many pictures of people together, momentous achievements, and peoples bodies. The unforeseen downside to this is how the person on the other side of the screen might feel. Teenagers are not sure who they are friends with when they see someone they like hanging out with people that the other friend is not associated with. If you see that someone has brought a kid into their lives and you weren't told about it except for through a social media post than you might start to evaluate how close you are with that individual. Teenage girls who often compare themselves to others on these platforms has taken a toll on their body images. It ends up with them not loving themselves, wishing they were someone else that they keep seeing online.

  
Sources:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90349518/google-keeps-an-eye-on-what-you-buy-and-its-not-alone
http://www.center4research.org/social-media-affects-mental-health/