This weeks topic of discussion in class was social media and our digital identities. What exactly is a digital identity? I found the following video that simply explains the meaning behind this term.

It is crazy to think that we live in a world where who we are as individuals is what we portray online, “our footprint on the web.” – Eric Stoller. I have been hesitant about personal posts on social media accounts and tend to share other thoughts, rather than express my own, especially recently since I entered into the education program. We have been cautioned about participation on social media accounts as one wrong post could hinder our chances of employment. The image below is how I was beginning to feel before this class!

In the video “One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life” we hear about a young woman posting a Tweet and waking up to a digital nightmare. One comment taken out of context, although probably a mistake, ruined Justine Sacco’s life. The mob mentality or cyber vigilantism had fellow Tweeters short of wanting her head served on a platter. One mistake! She lost her life a she knew it, and gained an anxiety and depression disorder. “Good people make mistakes.” We need to remember this when participating on social media and critically think about what we are reading and empathize for those that unfortunately made their mistake for the world to see. The idea that as digital citizens we take pleasure in someones else pain is a misuse of power. “The internet was a place where the voiceless people could have a voice and now has turned into a surveillance for society.” –Jon Ronson This terrifies me. It also serves as a reminder that we have to be digitally aware of what we are posting and ensure we are portraying a positive online presence.

A question posed that had me reflecting is ” What version of you online is the most true?” Previous to reading an article about having multiple online identities I would have had a very different answer. I would have argued that you should be posting authentically, your online presence should not differ from your offline life. I understand now that I too use different platforms for different reasons. My Facebook and almost non-existent Instagram are where I connect with friends and family. My newly acquired Twitter account is where I portray more of myself as a professional building my PLN. Just like in my “real” life different events involve different segments of life. As much as I can see the benefit of having multiple accounts for the same platform I cannot imagine keeping track of them all. As I commented on Morgans post Investigating Our Digital Footprints, I quite often can not remember the passwords I have for the accounts I have! So to answer the question, every part of my online presences is the most true, just in different segments of my life.

“Different sites, different audiences, different purposes. Very simple.” – Nicole Lee

While online lives can be fun, educational, and enable us to build connections I also see how misrepresentation can portray a double or “Split” life as explained in the article about Madison. Her silent struggle with depression and the pressure to present herself digitally perfect. As the use of filters, only posting smiles and successes flood social media there is a message being sent that if you are not always happy there is something wrong with you. The need for acknowledgment needed and sought through likes and continual comparison to an edited identity can change our perception of what is real. It is important that we also use our platforms to be authentic and supportive, and debunk the myth that “Happiness is a choice.” As educators, we need to teach about digital citizenship (this link provides a visual) and not only critical thinking and analyzing, but acting on those thoughts by really looking at what is real and what is fake. We need to educate about our digital identities being what put out there for other to see and react to…..positive or negative intentions.

This week I was able to put the things I had learned about digital identities to cyber sleuth s classmate and analyze her digital identity. This process made me realize just how much I could find out about someone online. I was able to find educational backgrounds, family members, friends, pets, birthday, where she lives, what she liked according to Pinterest. She has multiple social media accounts including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and a WordPress blog…not from our class list. Stevie’s online presences portrays a well-educated young lady that loves her family and friends. Her pictures showed her being an active Auntie and having 2 pet cats. She likes to celebrate and takes time to go out and have fun. She posts I would guess an average amount. Stevie seems to use Instagram and Facebook as personal platforms and Twitter as a professional platform, as talked about in the multiple identities article. i would venture to agree with the article when it states that having “multiple digital identities is more normal than you think.”

“The notion that we have just one authentic self is a fallacy.” Nicole Lee

How many of you reading this post have multiple accounts on the same platform? Please feel free to leave a comment as I am curious and would love to hear your thoughts 🙂

I thought I would share this PowToon video. It is a good explanation as well and just in case anyone was interested and exploring this platform for the final learning summary.