Secret Identities

From an educational perspective, I present myself in a way that aligns with my “values” and through the “behaviours that are expected” (Janette Randall, 2018) by my school, my colleagues and my students, primarily targeting the correct audience and content according to my professional interests, beliefs and the appropriate use of social media. 

Social media can be absorbed in a good or bad way depending on the approaches taken. One’s digital identity can differ from their in-person identity and online identity. When online you can control what you decide to post and the security settings that come along such as choosing whom you want to see certain content. However, images and videos that are posted online are often edited to make themselves or something appear more engaging and attractive, ultimately leading to an increased awareness of photo and video editing, and one’s self-image. Edited images and videos “elevate a certain body type” (Erin Heger, 2022) that is unattainable for a healthy human body to obtain. Screen time affects each person differently, and shapes “public opinions” (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2021), which is why Researchers claim the ideal amount of screen time is just one hour a day — but they could be overstating the problem. Students spend a “significant chunk of each day absorbing others” (Kate Fagan, 2015) while trying to discover and identify themselves in the process. Social media is typically known to worsen the state of those with mental illness and society continues to suffer from stigma and misconceptions related to mental health.

Negative Stereotypes & Misconceptions About Those With Mental Health Problems

• Often “depicted as dangerous, violent and unpredictable” (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2021) to others
• Headlines often feature “violent acts by a person with a mental health condition” compared to “stories of recovery or positive news” (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2021) surrounding individuals with mental health problems
• It is a frequent belief that “happiness is a choice, which perpetuates the notion of depression as weakness” (Fagan, 2015), which is ultimately untrue
• There is a notion needing to filter out the sadness in prevention to not “drag down” (Fagan, 2015) those around them

Statistics

• Around “74 percent of girls agreed that other girls tried to make themselves look cooler than they are” (Fagan, 2015) on social media 
• About “two-thirds of Americans edit their photos”(Heger, 2022) before posting 
• Nearly “50% also felt that their lives (in terms of diet, sleep, exercise, and schoolwork) were negatively impacted” (Genomind, 2021) by social media
• Roughly “three quarters of school-aged children in Canada have some a social media account or blog” (Alex Boutilier, 2018)online

Take a look at the Digital Wellbeing Survey 2020 for more insight on social media usage with statistics on students between the ages of 12 and 16.

A heartbreaking example of the traumatizing effects social media has on people, identifiably through a young woman named Madison Holleran. Madison was a popular and highly active individual in high school, which persuaded her decision to pursue running in track while attending college and university. Madison seemed to resonate with a happy and thriving lifestyle through social media, though she was broken and alone on the inside, tragically leading to her taking her life at 19 years old on January 17, 2014.

“They were rough [unflattering] pictures,” Madison is quoted as saying.

(Darren Cooper, 2017)

Madison’s father, Jim Holleran, founded a nonprofit organization to share the mental health problems that his daughter had experienced in the prevention of suicide and to end the ongoing stigma relating to mental health. The Madison Holleran Foundation assisted the New Jersey Legislature in passing “The Madison Holleran Suicide Prevention Act in 2016” enforcing adequate care for all students. This act states that “all New Jersey colleges must provide access to health care professionals with mental health training 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and notify students of the availability of such counselling within 15 days” (Andrew Dawson, 2020) before entering campus. 

Madison Holleran Resources

• Split Image
• How social media ‘pressure’ and depression may be linked in teens
• The Madison Holleran Foundation
•  What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
• The Madison Holleran Foundation Facebook

Something as simple as turning on your webcam or interacting with social media, like Amanda Todd, can lead to your pictures, videos and your information becoming “stolen, downloaded and manipulated (without you even knowing about it) to be used by strangers, predators and pedophiles” (Things To Do With Kids, 2022) on an online platform. One might believe their information is secure and private, however, social media platforms often keep their ways quiet on what they do with the information they are browsing and using. When creating an account various platforms will ask you to accept their terms and conditions when in reality you are signing “ownership policies” (Cadie Thompson, 2015), handing your information over when not always knowing what you really signed up for when accessing social media. Unfortunately, when you are uploading something to the internet, you are losing control of your post because various platforms are giving “themselves licence to use your photos as they see fit” (Things To Do With Kids, 2022) their marketing needs, and sometimes exploding purposes. This is How Targeted Ads Work and they are not always inevitably good. It is often known that “if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product” (Syracuse University, 2020) that is being sold without you being in the know of it. In relation, information about various users is obtained by creating apps that enforce an environment using “positive intermittent reinforcement” (Syracuse University, 2020) on its’ consumers in the promotion for users to engage in “pulling the lever of a slot machine hoping we hit the jackpot” (Syracuse University, 2020) at least one more time.

Social media does hold Dangers of Posting if one does not Frame Their Digital Identity in a positive way or become educated about the negative contributions the internet has on them and their peers. 

I was not shocked to read that Having Multiple Online Identities is More Normal Than You Think because it was common for students to be a catfish or to create anonymous hate accounts where they accepted and posted direct messages from students regarding rumours and statements about what they hated about others. Many individuals have had a false post made about them and were directly tagged in the post, ultimately affecting the health and well-being of many students, and some still today because of the ongoing online abuse. It is quite sad that over “fifty years ago, we spoke via the telephone, sharing only the details that constructed the self we wanted reflected” (Fagan, 2015), but we are now in a time where others can construct one’s identity for them without their consent.

Creating a professional digital platform, especially during the rise of the online world and technology development, is important to become noticed and create a positive reputation for oneself. It is not uncommon for teachers to participate in the use of “multiple social media accounts” (Lee, 2016) solely because it provides opportunities for students and teachers. Being active on social media provides teachers with the opportuinties to have access to “different sites, “different audiences” and “different purposes” (Lee, 2016) to influence diverse and differientiated learning opportunities for students. 

It is necessary that students are shown how to appropriately and effectively engage within the online world to prevent damage, but to influence a wide range of learning opportunities for the students instead. With the everlasting, and rising development of technology it is mandatory for students to learn how to create a professional footprint to protect their professional identity; once something is posted, it will forever be there in some way, including what others post about you within the online world because the internet does not forget. To assist students in the development of healthy social media habits and interactions, educators can teach their students how to “limit your screen time” or “take a break” and “turn off notifications” (Syracuse University, 2020) and know what to interact with online. The dark web is a traumatizing and dehumanizing system that requires you to ensure you are protecting “yourself and your family” (Syracuse University, 2020) by safely using social media and the evolving online world.

Resources Connected to Social Media and Digital Identity

Netflix