Vanity Search

I teach technology at the high school level.  Each year, in an effort to bring awareness to digital footprints, I have my students research themselves.  I watch in amazement as they laugh and share pictures of themselves from a simple Google search.  Most of our young adults use Snapchat for their social media platform.  I want to warn them that although they think these pictures are private, they may not be forever.  All it takes is for the company to sell and the pictures to be released. When signing up for an account, the fine print states they have access to the users photos.  So someday, when Googling your name, you may see some of your old Snaps.  Faces go pale and glow in the reflection of the classroom monitors.  Some exclaim that it's illegal but no, not really.  You signed up and agreed to their rules.  Long story short, in an effort to keep in tune with my own, I also periodically Google myself.

Now normally you won't find much about me by just throwing my married name in a Google search.  However, put my maiden name in there and you will find much more.  Most of the pictures found under my name are those of my student athletes.   I have coached tennis for the last three years and have often posted pictures of my players when they win a tournament or medal.  There is nothing shocking when you enter my name but I am surprised that there are pictures of some of my co-workers that are simply acquainted with me when you get the results.   There are articles from when I was a flower girl in the 1970's, well before most newspaper articles made it to internet searches.
For the most part there is nothing shocking.  Most of the pictures that show up are those that have posted on Facebook or Twitter by myself or our athletic booster club.  I think it is something that everyone should do periodically.

- Leigh Moreno