Young Adults Leaving Pinellas Foster System Get Lessons on How Their Social Footprint Can Help Them

A group of young adults leaving the foster system in Pinellas County heard today about how maintaining a positive reputation online can help them get accepted into college or land a job.

“Every time you go online, you leave a digital trail. The information you share can be copied, searched, and shared,” Beverly Coleman, an AT&T manager in Tampa, told the group at the Guy A. Stavros Institute. “And that is a great opportunity for you to put your best foot forward. Or it can present challenges in the future.”

Participants attended a four-day summer workshop, Ready for Life, for young adults who are aging out of the foster care system. The Pinellas Education Foundation held the workshops this week to help the students prepare for the world that awaits them.

AT&T’s Coleman led a session on the final day to teach the students about their “digital footprint,” the trail of personal information that gets left behind every time someone posts a photo, tweet, video or comment online.

Coleman’s presentation was part of AT&T’s Digital You program, a continuing effort to provide tools, tips and guidance for people of all ages to learn more about how to have a safe and secure online experience.

Coleman told the group “Everything you post online, even in a private setting, could potentially be made public and may never be completely deleted. What seems funny to you today may seem like bad judgment to college administrators or employers tomorrow.”

Coleman offered advice on how the students can create a personal brand that would help them in that next step of their life.

Kathy Mize-Plummer, executive director of Ready For Life, said AT&T's session was helpful for the young adults. "A lot of them are looking for jobs, and they learned a lot about how they can present themselves in the best light and not set themselves up for failure."