Before the Search: Ultimately, everyone can be searched and found on the internet due to the exponential increase in the technological use of 2018. If someone were to have googled my name, I believe that my identity would only be traced to a facebook link. However, if someone were to have googled my stage name, Renee Audrey, then I believe that there would be more links to further information about that aspect of my identity. I won second place in a national contest for songwriting about substance abuse prevention, and I attended the 59th annual Grammy rehearsals as my reward. After receiving this prize, several articles were written in my town about this musical achievement. In addition, my stage identity can be accessed through public sites such as Youtube or SoundCloud. I truly believe in the importance of the protection of one’s identity. Therefore, I try to protect my birth name, Renee Levine, to the best of my ability. I aspire that in the future, my songwriting abilities will become acknowledged further, as I would like to express my thoughts on social issues through music. However, in terms of my birth identity, I do not want to be seen at all. Although my birth name can be found on Facebook, that is the most I ever want to be exploited.
The Search: After utilizing several search engines, I did not find much information on my birth identity. When using the Google search engine, the first few results to appear were of my Facebook account, a marketing consultant on LinkedIn, and a doctor of radiation oncology. When I searched for my stage name on Google, several pictures from the contest I entered appeared on the images tab. Additionally, when I searched both my birth name and stage name on Yahoo, similar results to Google appeared. When using the Bing search engine, the first result referred to the radiation oncologist mentioned previously. Interestingly, after searching my stage name, there were no results that lead to my identity. When using the DuckDuckGo search engine, there was hardly any traces to my actual identity, except if you were to continue scrolling through an entire list of results on White Pages. I feel relieved that my identity is somewhat protected, however with today’s technology, is anything truly private?
Future Searches: In the future, I would hope to graduate with some sort of science degree from Muhlenberg College. In addition, I hope that I have made a strong musical presence on campus. I am just starting to work for the WMUH radio, and I would like to pursue an education in media and communications as well as chemistry. I hope that I can somehow combine my interests in media and the sciences into the career of my dreams after attending graduate school. I hope that over the span of the next five years, I gain clarity as to what I want to pursue in terms of an occupation. I aspire that if someone were to search my name on the internet, those achievements regarding both the media and the sciences will appear on his or her screen.
The Experience: I found this activity to be enlightening in terms of putting technology to the test. It was interesting to learn how it truly has affected one’s privacy and personal life. When utilizing forms of social media, it is extremely important to exercise care into what is posted online because ultimately, everything online is permanent. In addition, personal information is fairly accessible to the public. I hope that my name will be searched in a positive light in the future. I also aspire to create a prominent stance in the scientific and communicative community, and I wish to be found and acknowledged for my future achievements.
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