All the articles suggested first googling yourself to see what your presence is like on the internet. When I googled myself however I did not find any links to any of my social media profiles, nor did I find any images of me. The only results that came up were of a horror movie director with the same name as me. Knowing this, I realized my settings for my social media accounts were previously privatized years ago when I first made my accounts. People can still find me if they search my name on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but I remembered that in my settings I tried to keep it to where only friends of friends or mutual followers could view my profile.

When I was younger I was always cautious and more private about my social media accounts because I was warned and wary about the dangers of internet stalking and strangers. As I grew up however I realized I could provide a little more information in my bio and let people find me more easily because social media was becoming the main way  for connecting and communicating with others.

The only social media account that I really audited most recently is my Facebook. For me, Facebook is where I mostly keep in touch with relatives and old teachers. Because of that, I already am aware and cautious with my posts; I only keep my Facebook friends updated on milestones and important life events going on, or I’ll share the occasional Tasty video. Knowing that potential employers would most likely view my Facebook, I went through my tagged photos and hid/untagged myself from pictures that I did not want showing up on my profile. My settings are already set to where I have to approve of certain posts showing up on my timeline just because I like to keep my profile clean.

I don’t think I have a “personal brand,” and I don’t think I need one. There isn’t anything particularly surprising or provocative about my social media; it just represents who I am. My Twitter is full of dumb thoughts that fit into 140 characters, my Instagram is just pictures with friends at fun events, and my Facebook is old, embarrassing middle school photos with new, current college updates. I don’t try to keep up an aesthetic or an aura because it’s just social media. I am cautious of what I post because I know posts are forever and it could give a bad impression with potential future employers, but social media presence as a non-celebrity or college student shouldn’t be a big deal. Whatever I post I know for a fact someone has only looked at it for maybe 5 seconds before scrolling onto the next exciting thing on the screen. People’s presence on social media is mostly fleeting.