Self Stalking

When I was searching the Internet for myself, it was not very easy. Although there are not many Patrick Connolly’s in Wisconsin, there are thousands of people with my name all over Ireland. Moreover, since I have searched myself on my own computer in the past I was used to seeing my results. But when I used a random school computer I was surprised with how hard it was to find information regarding my life. When I searched my name using Pages, or WhitePages my personal information seemed pretty hidden. Also, since both my parents have moved recently the address that can be found under my name is my old address regardless. When I began to search the name of my town and my name in Google, lots of results from “Staples Volleyball” appeared from newspaper articles in local papers about my volleyball games. I also keep all my social media accounts on strict private settings, so the most that could be viewed from one of these accounts is my home page. In other words, anything I would have wanted hidden (posts, comments, photos) were hidden from public Google searches. As a result of my popular name, relocations and strict social media settings Google searches for Patrick Connolly were not that informational. But I view that as a victory in my books. Although I could always be a little more censored while online, I am very happy with my online presence and how a complete stranger would view me on the web.