blog #6

Going Full FBI Agent on Myself

To be honest, cyberstalking is something I am quite good at. I assume many of us can say that we have been able to find way too much information about a friend, crush, or anyone online by doing a few simple google searches. I knew going into this it was going to be easy to find a ton of information about my self because none of my accounts are fully private. Since all of my accounts are public I am always cautious about what I post but I think the online culture has made me care even more. Vega-Castaneda and Castaneda explain that often times girls “present themselves as having a ‘perfect’ life (2019, p. 87). on social media, and I think the ability to find nearly everything on google makes me do this even more.

        

I knew that if I had used my account on a computer or logged in on google that I would show up more so I decided to use my brother's ipad to stalk my self because I had never used that device. I also used basic search terms at first and then went more in-depth as I realized there were other Jessica Post's that had a great deal of media coverage about them. I wanted to see what images came up, which social media accounts were at the top of the search, and if any articles including my name showed up.

Basic Search

To begin my search I just typed in Jessica Post and found out that the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is named Jessica Post now so everything was about her on the first page of Google. The Twitter accounts, articles, images, and videos tab all included her information or other famous Jessicas like Jessica Simpson. This search for just my name was unsuccessful for finding any information on my self.

In-depth seach

To refine my search I typed in Jessica Post CNU and that is when I found my Linkedin, articles about me committing to CNU for sailing, articles about sailing, and my Facebook. I assumed this would be the case because it seems like Google typically pulls up articles that have your name included ahead of social accounts. I also tried to Google Jessica Post Hilton Head (my home) and this one was not very successful because it just showed me the street named Jessica Lane in Hilton Head.

I quickly realized that Jessica Post CNU or Jessicapostt (my main social media handle) would bring up the most information about my self because they are keywords that appear in handles or in articles. With these searches, I was pleased with what I was able to find about myself but that is because I am careful about what I post online.

Privacy

I am well aware that my social media accounts are public and I know that this means really anyone can find me. I have privacy settings set for strangers not to be able to message me or if they do they come up in requests. I also am very careful about location tags on posts because of this. I am unsure why I have always decided to keep my accounts public, I think some of it is because I work with multiple brands and when you promote a company online, your account has to be public fo reshares and to reach a greater audience. I no longer share just anything on social media outlets and what I do share I am very okay with strangers seeing. I know not everyone feels like this but, I find it pretty interesting to be able to see anyone's content, and letting anyone see mine.

Another reason I think I am pleased with what I was able to find about my self online is because I didn't get any social media platforms until high school. Before I was 14 or 15 I didn't have a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and because of this I never had the phase where I overshared or shared things I would think are embarrassing now.

Social Media has become so prominent in our lives and is basically an extension of ourselves, especially for people in my generation. According to Baker (2018), "there are over two billion active users on Facebook, one billion on Instagram, and 365 million on Twitter" showing there is a massive amount of people online which is why the basic search of a name most likely wont bring up your personal profile if you're a normal college student like us. For me, searching my school or handle plenty of information comes up however, it is information I think I am comfortable sharing, like my Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.  

Cyberstalking is something that is pretty easy if you have basic information on someone, like their name and school, or profession however, just a name seems like it does not always get you all the information you could need, especially if they keep accounts private. I think it was easiest to find a lot of my accounts is because I have the same handle for almost everything, even Pinterest and Poshmark which allows the search algorithm to bring up all the results with the @jessicapostt. 

References 

Baker, K. (2018, October 2). The ultimate guide to social media marketing campaigns. 

Vega-Castaneda, L., & Castaneda, M (2019). "Women and Girls and Social Media." In Teaching & Learning about Difference through Social Media: Reflection, Engagement, & Self-Assessment, 86-103. Routledge.