In Lauren Goode’s article, “A Handy Guide to Deleting Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and More” she describes how to delete an account from various social media sites, as well as outlines what exactly it means to delete an account. One of the issues Goode touches on is what data is kept, or how long an individual’s data is kept, after deleting a digital account. Simply put: it’s not always as straightforward as one might think. For example, unsubscribing from an e-mail list or uninstalling an app from your smartphone does not mean that one’s account has been deleted. The process to delete an account differs from site to site and often requires far more effort on the user’s part than was involved in creating or opening the account. After the account has been deleted or closed, sites often retain a user’s data for a period of time, and information published to those accounts may continue to appear in search engine result pages.
It is a statement itself that a guide of this nature even exists. While not explicitly stated in the guide, the implications of “deleted” accounts on an individual’s digital footprint are brought to the forefront. This brings a whole slew of other questions to mind, such as:
When you delete an account, what data remains in cyberspace?
What records are kept of the existence of these accounts after they’ve been deleted, and who has access to those records?
What happens if we simply abandon these digital spaces, instead of deleting them?
How do deleted or abandoned digital accounts affect one’s overall digital footprint?
While technology, and specifically the internet, have become increasingly easy to use, Goode’s guide suggests that perhaps we’re in digital overload. We’re click-happy to open new accounts with the latest website or trending app without fully recognizing their implications on our digital footprint. We may not know what data is being stored about us by a digital entity while the account is open, let alone understanding what data will continue to be stored about us after those accounts are deleted. If we simply abandon these accounts because we forget about them or because we don’t understand how to delete them, they hang in cyberspace, a suspended reminder of a past digital excursion.
Sarah Wanenchak has discussed some of the implications of abandoned digital space in her article “Atemporality and Abandoned Digital Space.” Wanenchak addresses the differences between abandoned physical spaces and abandoned digital spaces pointing out that while abandoned physical spaces often leave an impression of being ruined in some way, abandoned digital spaces are instead static, “as if the future had never happened.” This proposes the question, what message are abandoned digital spaces sending to their viewers? Are our abandoned digital accounts contributing to the overall picture of our digital existence, or are they casting a shadow on the digital personas we create for ourselves? I think the answer to that question varies based on the idividual and which digital spaces they have (or do) occupy. Blogger Cheri Lucas Rowland reflects on these questions in her article, “Notes on Past Selves & My Abandoned Digital Spaces.”
Moving forward, it is important for digitally conscious individuals (as well as businesses and brands) to consider how deleted and abandoned digital spaces influence their digital footprint. Abandoning an account may leave future viewers with an idea of who a user was at one point in time, however, deleting those same accounts may not necessarily erase all records of a user’s interaction with those accounts. It is increasingly necessary for users to be aware of these effects as we move into a time when one’s digital footprint is often a determining factor in their successes, from personal relationships to career opportunities.