We are asked to blog about our digital identities in reference to my past, present, and future, along with my own children’s identities, I will focus mainly on my present knowing that my past and future still play a huge role.
Thinking about digital identity is complex, it is considering and analyzing where I am leaving my digital fingerprint and what it says about me and what I am already leaving about my children.
To preface part of my discussion I want to start with this video:
Present:
I know we have all fallen to some of these password protection errors and some point. I am noticing the increase in digital identity protection in multiple areas of my personal and work life. When I think of my identity I think of protecting it and how much of a headache this can be at times. Which leads me to yesterday… oooh yesterday… I hope you enjoy the humor in this or you can make a connection. Yesterday, I wanted to get into my account on CRA, you know many of us head to this site once or twice a year, tax season and all. I just needed to check one small thing, see if a tax document was available yet. Do you think that I remembered all the information needed to get onto my account? Nope. Here I was running around my house looking for this document for a number, finally getting on and then realizing I did not change my address and now I have locked myself out of my account due to a security breach and need to contact CRA to get back in. Once I authenticated my identity with the nice lady on the phone I was now needing to regain access to my online account which required bank information, address, birth date, last years income tax number line XXXX, then I had to enter in my phone number, get an 2 factor authentication number to enter and then finally I was able to access my account only to realize I need another number to gain full access to my account which will be sent in the mail. SERISOUSLY??? I appreciate protecting my identity but UGH. Then I had to make my way to the Canada Student Loan website as well which has similar identity protection set up. In my personal life I access many websites and without using a password saver there would be huge amounts of frustration and tons of password resets.
Work has also recently increased its protection and now requires us to authenticate ourselves when logging on to a variety of multiple different platforms (for example Edsby). This again helps with protection but comes with inconvenience and requires that I have access to my phone to get that special code. If it was not for my smart watch that I can see the text message on I could spend precious teaching moments looking for my phone which could be in my lunch kit in the staff room fridge (yes it has happened, more then I want to admit), in my car, my purse, my jacket, on my desk, on the back table where my son was playing on it before school, etc. Authenticating myself throws me off sometimes, it makes me feel unprepared and scattered, but more importantly it can interrupt the flow of my teaching and I let my frustration show sometimes. However I am evolving and learning from this class and I should take these moments and turn them into teaching moments about the importance of digital identity. The teaching moment is literally presenting itself and I should be seizing the opportunity to use it.
A reflection on something Alec said…
Alec said to think about if you were to die and your last 3 posts define who you are as a person, what does that say about you? So let’s take a look:
Twitter:
Facebook:
TikTok (you only get one video)
Based off of my 3 last posts on Twitter and my last 3 posts on Facebook in my comments let me know who you think I am? What does my digital identity in these posts say who I am? Be honest with me! I won’t be offended (much haha).
My present identity in these platforms are very different then each other. They each show a side of who I am, sides of myself that I am willing to share; pieces of my digital identity. It has definitely evolved over time but through its evolution I am becoming more aware of the fingerprints I am leaving behind. I am also becoming more aware of the fingerprints of my children that I am leaving behind; I did not give that a second thought but I sure am now.
Thank you Alec for inspiring my post this week!
Hi, I agree that it takes lots of efforts to bring back your account and these days the 3 step authentication has secured our account more. I Liked the way you shared your last 3 posts. I believe you think in making this world better. From Twitter, I interpreted that you care for others and want everyone happy. Sorry I am not judging you…This is just what I felt. Everybody is perfect 🙂
Thanks for your comment Amanpreet this is exactly the feedback I was looking for; how my posts are defining who I am to others. I have become more aware of this now more then I ever have.
Reading your blog made me reflect on last week when one of my accounts was hacked. When they took over my account, they made purchases with my credit card and changed all the information. It took them a while to go through all the previous things to prove that it was my account. My mistake was that I had this account for so long I wasn’t updating my security as they changed, i.e., the 2 step authentication. Breaches like this remind me how fragile our digital property is.
Luckily for me, this person did not take on my persona online. If they wanted to, they could have created posts as me. That would’ve forever shaped my digital footprint.
I had a similar experience with the CRA when I changed my last name and address. It was such a lengthy process to update my information however that is one of the most crucial websites that definitely do require 2-step identification processes! I definitely wouldn’t want anything to happen to my CRA account. That would be a nightmare. I love that you included your last 3 posts from different social media platforms. It’s funny how we share different sides of ourselves on different platforms. I know my facebook and instagram is more personal, my twitter is my teaching account and my tiktok is for my dogs and everything else in between!
As I was reading your post, there were two parts that resonated with me. (And thank you for sharing your amusing story!!) The first that really stuck home was the need to stop and authenticate ourselves throughout the work day. About five to six times a day at work, I am asked to re-authenticate myself on various devices that I am using. I empathize with the annoyance you feel. Lol. However like you, I do understand the necessity for these safeguards. The second that resonated was when you said that each platform reflects a different part of your identity. I think that makes sense in the real world as well. Who I am and the parts of myself that I am sharing will always be different depending on my audience. We are complex individuals and it would be too simplified to expect others to “know” us based on a few conversations. However, it can give a glimpse into our perspectives and personal beliefs.
I too understand the need for safeguards, but some can be so tricky. When making accounts over the years, you start to forget which sites you’ve authenticated and what you have not. A colleague and I created a bunch of math videos together using a Google account. She retired several years ago and gave me access to the account. Just this year, it decided that it didn’t want us to get on anymore. She tried authenticating her email with her phone she had on file, and her security questions and still to this day cannot get in. Do you think we could get a hold of anyone to help us out? No. So some things can be so frustrating when it is in fact us trying to get in. How do hackers do it then? Lol… I mean, maybe they could hack this specific math video account and give me the password so I can actually get on it again. Such a shame to have to recreate all of that material (as I lost many of my items when I went on Mat leave with the computer return, etc.). Ugh. Advice anyone, lol?
Hello Christine,
Oh boy, do I agree with changing passwords. We had a recent password change in our division and we all spent the entire day complaining that we had to update our passwords on everything. I loooove your last three posts, and as for your title question, that is exactly how I view you! You seem caring, patient, thoughtful, and funny (I love the new TikTok video)! Do you feel the difference in platforms is due to different audiences or just because that is what the platform leans to?