Digital Identity Considerations
As I consider my digital identity, I reflect on how much I did NOT know about digital identity or haven’t thought much about. As a teacher and a mother, I try to consider what I put on social media. I only started adding my personally created identity in the early 2000’s when I was in my 30’s – I feel grateful that social media was not a thing for me as a teenager or young adult. I don’t really think I have a lot of regrets when it comes to what I have shared on social media. But this prompted me to do an internet search on my name. There are other Brenda Frederiksens in the world – fortunately they all seem like upstanding (digital) citizens. (Please let me know if you discover something to the contrary!) I reviewed my social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and feel as though I share things that are important to me and use these platforms for different parts of my life.
Facebook is used to keep in contact with family and friends both near and far. Twitter is primarily used for news and educational purposes. Instagram is used for a combination of both personal and professional. My biggest regret or reflection is asking permission of the people (namely my children) whose photos I have posted without permission. My own children have been very thoughtful when it comes to their online identity. They have been made aware of personal security measures by myself, my spouse and their teachers. As an educator I believe it is important to work alongside parents to help keep our children safe – both online and offline.
These applications (and a few more) are things I have created – different from the credential digital identity that has been created for me. Reading the article that Kate-Lyn Weisbrod posted on the concept of identity in a digital and networked world in week 6 on February 15th, really got me thinking about the categories of identity and the challenges that come with digital identity. The article goes on to describe streamlining identity so you don’t have to have an infinite number of usernames and passwords – something I seem to have a hard time with. Another perk to a streamlined digital identity development is the added security – making it more difficult for hackers to compromise personal information. But at what cost would this streamlining be – as Metcalfe (2019) concludes, “the development and use of digital identities always requires a discussion of the appropriate balance between privacy and utility”. 
About The Author
Brenda Frederiksen
Greetings! My name is Brenda Frederiksen. I am a Teacher-Librarian/Literacy Specialist by day and a parent, wife, and grad student by night. I am passionate about reading and passing along that love of reading to students!
Hi Brenda, I can relate to your feelings. Everyone of us make mistakes but we all are learning. I also learned a lot about Digital Theft from this class and trying to implement it in my real life. As a teacher we are responsible to keep our students safe and I am sure we all will do better after taking this class.
Thanks for sharing Brenda, I feel the same as you in terms of being happy that social media wasn’t around when i was in adolescence. Learning how to be a responsible and safe digital citizen goes perfectly with the things we learned as kids- don’t talk to strangers, don’t steal, treat others like you want to be treated, share- just another level. I am totally on board with streamlining digital identity because my digital security is embarrassingly weak, who can remember all those username and passwords anyway and they are probably all written down somewhere in people phones so if the phone gets hacked people are hooped anyway!
Many interesting aspects of digital identity, Brenda. I’m with you, there is so much I don’t know and really need to learn as the world continues to move this way. I am fairly hesitant with most things technology related because I worry too much about the what-ifs…what if someone gets access to my personal information, banking information…I know there are so many aspects of this that will make life easier and even more secure than I currently am. As you said, finding the correct balance is key.
Hey Brenda! Social media was a thing for me in my teens. It started as MSN conversations with my friends and reflecting on those moments I did and say some not so nice things at times, because it was easier to be a keyboard warrior then to confront someone and say it out loud. Facebook then appeared and I used this mainly to connect with my friends, play Farmville, and post about my social life as an early adult. However I feel that because I became a teacher the idea watching how I acted in public was instilled in me pretty quickly and later on came the online presence. I am so guilty about posting about my children without their consent, for my daughter from birth till about 2 years ago when she started to advocate for herself and did not want anything put online about her. Let me be honest here, I was like “I am your mom” “You can’t tell me what to do” “I will post what I want” rawr, rawr, rawr… it wasn’t till I really reflected on what she was asking of me and why that I understood. I am a bit more mindful now about what pictures I post of my children (especially my daughter), but am a bit more free with my son still. I get messages from family members or friends that I do not see, and we talk about pictures I post, and how my children are growing, I see Facebook as that opportunity to share with them, a way to stay connected. So I find it can be hard to find that balance to share with family but to then also protect my children’s digital identities.
Hi Brenda! Such a great post. I recall talking to my mother and she made the comment that she is very glad that her middle years and high school days are not documented on the internet like children and teens today. This sparked something for me because many of my friends are at the point where they are having babies and young toddlers and they document their entire life almost on a weekly basis for the world to see. I don’t know if I would want that for myself or my future children. However, it is hard not to when you want to share your life with friends and family that you might not see very often. It can be difficult to navigate that is for sure! I also struggle with remembering passwords. I have an entire note in my phone just for passwords to different websites that I can’t seem to remember.
You raise questions and address thoughts that I have had as well regarding my digital identity. Like you, I have not posted a lot of information or pictures about myself online. When I search my name, there are other people with my name who pop up. But, there is nothing alarming. Still, it raises a thought about other last names that I have gone by in the past. I would need to search those up as well, along with nicknames or variations of my first name. I also think it is prudent to occasionally run credit checks to see if any other person has used your identity to gain and misuse finances. As we ramp up our awareness, I am learning that there are further steps I can take and tools to use to protect my self.
Hello Brenda,
Great read! I wish that I had a similar experience of not being embarrassed. Unfortunately, I was introduced to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at a different stage in my life, and the socially acceptable thing was to post inappropriate pictures, jokes, and thoughts. Not that I was constantly posting, but I was tagged, and my face is still found in some unflattering situations. I am fortunate or not fortunate, for there is not another Durston McKenna scouring the internet. Fortunate because no one else will mistake them for me, unfortunate because there is no one to blame my adolescent/immature self on when running my name through a Google search.
Hello Brenda,
Great read! I wish that I had a similar experience of not being embarrassed. Unfortunately, I was introduced to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at a different stage in my life, and the socially acceptable thing was to post inappropriate pictures, jokes, and thoughts. Not that I was constantly posting, but I was tagged, and my face is still found in some unflattering situations. I am fortunate or not fortunate, for there is not another Durston McKenna scouring the internet. Fortunate because no one else will mistake them for me, unfortunate because there is no one to blame my adolescent/immature self on when running my name through a Google search.
Great post thank you for sharing!
It’s such a fine line between wanting to share with people, and being critical of what you share for your kid’s future sake. Some people want to share every minute of their kiddo’s existence, but it can be such a tricky thing. My dad used to always remind us that whatever we have on the internet is grounds for someone to steal our identities. That may be drastic at times, but it is something that has most definitely stuck with me. I also know that there are a lot of unwell people out there, that may, in turn, take my pictures of my kiddos and either use them for their own ideas or somehow use it to follow my life and gosh forbid my kiddo in real life. I wonder what it will all look like for my toddler in a few years. Hopefully, with more education, kiddos will be better equipped to be good digital citizens.
Thanks for the mention, Brenda. I find that I have avoided posting on social media (Instagram and Facebook) for years because I am always worried about how it may reflect on me years from now. I am consistently trying to hide my digital footprint from others. However, I am starting to learn that it is better that I establish a presence online so I can be in control of all parts of my digital identity. There are so many pieces of my digital identity that I don’t regularly consider, like my user identity. I appreciate reading your thoughts of how you interpret your own digital identity.