This tutorial will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. It will explain what Digital Footprints are and help you consider how you can create a professional social media presence.
This animated video from the NMC looks at Social Media. It can be accessed on their website, with links to further animated video related to the Code.
NMC (2021) Social media. Caring with Confidence: The Code in Action. 16/11/2020. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/code-in-action/social-media/ (Accessed: 2nd August 2021).
Social media has many uses both in a professional and personal context. It is important to consider the impact of the information we share and the ideas that we post can affect us now and in the future. Remember, things are very rarely completely deleted from the internet. However, that does not mean that social media is bad or should be avoided, the Nursing and Midwifery Council offer guidance on how to use social media responsibly to support patients, families, colleagues and the wider community.
Here is an example of how a social media platform has been used to support women during their pregnancy, the full reference is below.
McCarthy, R., et al. (2020) 'Midwife-moderated social media groups as a validated information source for women during pregnancy', Midwifery, 88, p.102710.
This blog post demonstrates how midwives have used social media to share videos to help support their community.
In this TED talk "Juan Enriquez: Your online life, permanent as a tattoo" discusses digital sharing in relation to our personal privacy.
In this video from the Internet Society they highlight four reasons to care about how your digital information is used.
Thank you engaging with the Digital Footprints activity, I hope you found it useful.
If you have questions about what information is available about you online, you can find out more from the Information Commissioners Office. This includes a link to the information on ‘Your right to get your data deleted’.
Remember, the NMC has advance and guidance on how to use social media responsibly:
NMC (no date) Guidance on using social media responsibly. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/social-media-guidance.pdf (Accessed: 15th December 2025).
