Pew Report: Digital Footprints

The “Pew Internet & American Life Project” has released a report Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency

Facts to ponder:

i.

Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago.

ii.

Fully 60% of internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online. Similarly, the majority of online adults (61%) do not feel compelled to limit the amount of information that can be found about them online.

iii.

Although the number of internet users who worry about their online information is
similar in size to the segment that takes steps to limit access to personal data, the two
groups do not neatly overlap. For many internet users, concerns about online personal
information do not translate into action. Among internet users who worry about their
personal information, just over half (54%) say they take steps to limit the amount of
personal information that is available about them.

It’s a great paper to read though, and serves as a great external validation to a lot of things we’re been talking about with FindMeOn for the past few years.