Month: September 2023

What is a digital identity?

After reading and watching the videos from this week’s material, digital identity is quite literally everything we post, share, like, comment, or interact with on social media and the internet. It is our “digital footprint”. Others that follow our social media accounts can view what we post and share. After reading the “Identity making and social media” paper, digital identity encapsulates the whole idea of identity and belonging in our networked spaces. Posting and sharing specific content to fit in with the social norm, possibly regardless of our lives outside of social media. As mentioned by Goffman they “describe a world where our interactions with others are not necessarily authentic; in other words, we ‘role play’ situations conforming to societal roles expected of us”. Reflecting on these points, digital identity is not always authentic but plays a large role in our networked connections. As said by Goffman “if one is to be seen as belonging in a social network, one must dress the part and act the part, and do the correct leisure”. Overall, digital identity is how you showcase yourself on the internet!

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

In my personal experiences I use networked spaces for different uses, but am also aware of the fact that any employer could view any of those spaces. For instance I use Instagram and VSCO as a way to connect with my friends which are both public accounts, so I therefore remember to think “what would an employer think when viewing these images?”. I also use LinkedIn which I would consider my professional approach to digital identity, where I have my job and educational background displayed for employers to view. 

One comment from the ‘Identity making and social media’ article I found quite funny and relatable was the comment about the author having “friends and colleagues who have out-of-date personal pages on Facebook”. I relate to this so much because although I have Facebook, I do not use it to post things but to only be present in UVic club groups. My Facebook is also a place for distant relatives to wish me happy birthday…. majority of which is my entire facebook profile.  

Relating back to the question, some of my social media is out of date and it might be confusing for some employers to navigate through. I also have become increasingly aware of what I am posting and sharing on social media and how that identity is displayed to employers and my professional network. 

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Online networks provide us a space for leisure and entertainment. It also is a space for us to feel a sense of community, to purchase items, stay connected to the news and each other. When thinking about how to answer this question the one thing I thought of is that all humans have opinions, and a lot of us express those opinions on our networked spaces, thus converging our digital identities. Reflecting on the videos and reading for this week there was discussion on political views and opinions on the news being shared over networked spaces and connecting people together. As said in the press conference video “Digital identity can increase political and social inclusion..” and in the ‘Identity making and social media reading’ “the Net continues to play a key role in supporting the rise of new social movements and radical politics…”. This got me thinking back to COVID years when everyone on the internet thought they were a pandemic expert, the backlash some got for their opinions on the matter, the anti-vaxxers vs vaxxers debates, the mis-infomation on the news about the virus and more! To conclude my thoughts, the impacts of converging digital identities and opinions on networked publics can lead to protests, political movements, and the sharing of mis-information. The Net can also be a “positive space for constructing and maintaining social networks, identity and belonging”. 

What does my digital identity look like? 

Completing the digital identity exercise in our groups, I think we all realized how much bigger our social media reach and digital footprints actually are. In our chat we discussed the difference between having public and private social media accounts and when we looked up our names/ Instagram usernames on google what images came up. A lot of us found at least one picture of ourselves online regardless of the private social media account. When I googled my instagram handle online I found direct links to my instagram, Facebook, VSCO account, and the UVic Dance Company account. Looking through the images there were 3 images of me, one when I was 12, an image of me doing field work at a co-op placement (posted through the UVic instagram), and a more recent one from the UVic Dance team instagram account. There was also an image of my late great aunt where my name was mentioned in her obituary, so that makes sense that those links/images would appear as well.

Another thing we discussed in our group was the authenticity of our social media posts. I currently have a public instagram as I was selected last year to represent a brand and promote that brand to UVic students through my social media. I had to meet a quota of X amount of posts and shares about the brand etc, in this role. Another member of my group mentioned how on social media “what people see on my Instagram does not fully represent my personality as a whole” and I can fully relate to this when I was in this “brand promoting role”. Reflecting on this week’s readings and ‘Goffman’s theory’, I 100% believe that this was a perfect example of the un-authenticity we can experience on social media and I played the part as an “influencer” to help promote this brand. Overall, I have been more recently aware that I definitely have an uncontrolled social media presence due to my public social media, and to be careful of what I post and share.

Sept 20th 2023

Hello everyone! My name is Jesse and welcome to my EDCI 338 Blog! I am currently in my 5th and final year in the Marine Biology program at UVic and am excited to be a part of this class first semester! I chose to take this class as throughout my past co-op term one of my main tasks was using social media to promote events for Ocean Week Victoria. I thought that this course would be a great way to continue learning the best ways to use online tools for educational contexts and continue to help me grow my understanding of our digital footprint. On the topic of online networks, feel free to add me on LinkedIn (Jesse Dool)!

After going over the readings for the first week I came to better understand what our PLN is. Our personal learning networks allow us to connect to people, collaborate, and learn from each other, expanding our professional and social network. From a marine biologist in training point of view, the online world is a great way to stay connected to the new research being conducted everyday and share valuable information with each other to further research.  

1. What does it mean to network using social media?

Technology has definitely changed the way we share information and connect with each other. Social media has become a huge part of this connection as our society continues to become more digitized. The readings talk about the new ways we seek out, access, and store information continues to expand. From video sharing sites to collaborative online spaces, the online world has become a huge part of our everyday lives. When just looking at social media, we can quickly look up someone using their first and last name. We can make connections with employers and see what our friends are up to. Personally as a huge user of social media, I find it as a great way to stay connected with my friends!! Overall, I believe that to network using social media is to create networks that support our professional development and stay connected as a society. 

2. How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

Thinking about all of the different online spaces I use… there is a lot! From various social media accounts, to LinkedIn, to Google drive programs for work, mattermost, slack, and more, to participate in networked spaces is not just a motivation, it is needed to stay connected. Reflecting on the readings from the week, the main theme I found between them was the opportunity for online networked publics to connect us to future job opportunities. Like LinkedIn for example- this is a great online networked space where employers can find out about your past job experiences and skills. It also allows us to look up various organizations and companies, view who has worked there in the past, opinions about the company, and view job openings. Networked publics allow us to build connections, maintain connections, and activate new connections. 

3. What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

Online networked spaces are a great way to connect with new employers and collaborate with different organizations/ companies. Although, we have to always continue to be aware of what we post on our social networked spaces. As mentioned in the readings, online machines can take information from our social spaces and send us targeted ads, job postings, possible social media connections, and more. The possibility of our data being misused and the non-existence of privacy continues to grow. We are continuously subject to advertising and personalization based on what we post and who we connect with. Reflecting on past summer camp job experiences, the one thing we had to do was use a different name at camp to keep our identity and social networked accounts private. As someone who also plans on graduating this year and starting a professional career, I have become more and more aware of what I post on my social media and what employers can view when my name is looked up on the internet. 

Overall, networked spaces allow us to stay connected with each other, expand our learning networks, and make professional connections with employers. Although we must increasingly be aware of our digital footprint, and what we post on our social networks, to help protect our privacy.