My digital footprint is partially an invisible one, if only because I spent more time "lurking" than "interacting". However, what you consider an interaction is based on perspective.
An interaction is usually measured by how you affected the person who originally posted. For example, leaving a comment or adding onto the post. However, when it comes to your footprint, it can be measured as whether you were there at all. People can easily trace what websites you visit, what accounts are linked to you, and where your device is at any time. Your footprint is a lot more than what you add to the wide discussions of the internet; it's mainly a trail for anyone interested to follow.
It feels that no one could predict the profound impact of the internet on our world at large. After all, this sort of technology is entirely unprecedented. There is little to no time separating communication, making it impossible to avoid information being checked, denied, and twisted at every moment. Our technology wants to know everything about us and the world we live in, whether we want it to or not.
The "wonders of technology" may be all well and good, but it drives a break between our sense of self and sense of belonging. It is now impossible to avoid the fear of missing out, now weighing what you want to miss out on. Are you missing out on hanging out with your friends by spending time with them without technology, or are you missing out on a conversation about something they watched the night before on their phones? Are you missing out on current events, or the newest video game? People are now missing out on everything all the time because it's happening all at once, so now they must pick and choose. No matter their choice, they will still feel poorly by the end of the day because they missed something, regardless of what it is. Our reliance on the constant stream of information makes it impossible to live without it, or to even put it on pause.
Technology will only get worse before it gets better, since we are incredibly slow at legislating it and the funds for government intervention can often come from technological coffers. I may have been taught from an early age to be careful what I say online and have been schooled accordingly, but that does not change that I am being tracked. I have been tracked my whole life, through my parents and my siblings and any friend I've ever had. This will not stop until the ability to sell information stops. This is so profitable a market that our privacy will not be returned unless the market is blacklisted altogether, and it will not be blacklisted because it's used to the government's advantage. When it comes to our safety, a drastic measure must be issued to ensure it.
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