This week in EDTC300 we were tasked with reflecting on digital identity by cybersleuthing one of our colleagues. This task was an excellent introduction to digital identity and prompted us to find out information on a peer that is available to the public online.

To begin, I did a quick google search. Surprisingly, I found a lot of information just from the first page of results. I was able to find her edusites blog, previous employment information, and extracurricular groups that she was involved in. I found that she has an Instagram account; however, it is private so the only data I could gather about her was from her bio. Social media bios are curated by the user to portray who they are and what they want others to know about them and I believe hers did just that. Her Facebook is public, however, there was only a few scrolls worth of content. Within those few scrolls though, one can learn about her interests, where she has gone to school, and even who her family is. It was evident that her Twitter account was only created for the purpose of this course, and I couldn’t find any other social media accounts of hers. Overall, I feel that the digital identity of the person I cybersleuthed is very representative of who she is as a person in real life.

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After completing the cybersleuthing activity for my peer, I wanted to do some digging on myself. I was happy to find that my digital identity was quite private without much being available to the public. One surprising thing I did find was articles and interviews of myself from my previous employment position. Before returning to university to obtain my B. Ed, I worked for a nonprofit organization in my hometown. A quick google search of my name (and hometown) and you will be able to find all of the projects, events, and endeavours that I organized and managed during my time there. While all of the digital recognition was important to the success of my role in the organization, I never considered the permanence of such posts. With only a few clicks, anyone would be able to find my previous employer, my old job title, and even pictures of some of my old clients (all of which had media releases). While this part of my digital identity is not negative, it is something that I never posted to the internet. I think this goes to show how our digital identities can be easily influenced by peers, family members, coworkers, and even strangers.

Different sites, different audiences, different purposes.

Nicole LeE

After reading Nicole Lee’s article on having multiple online identities, I wondered if I have curated different identities according to the different social media applications that I use. I found that I agreed with most of what Lee wrote. Facebook is for family, peers, colleagues, and connecting with anyone who may not know me well enough to have my phone number (ie. classmates connecting for group projects). Instagram is for friends and is where I share anything exciting that happens in my life. Snapchat is to view others stories and communicate with friends. And twitter, which I have only recently gotten for EDTC 300, is strictly for education and building a PLN. From reflecting on this article, I have come to realize the value I place on keeping my digital identity small. I believe I am quite lucky to have grown up alongside technology. As I evolved from a child to a teenager to a young adult, technology also evolved. Because of this, I didn’t have many social media accounts until I was old enough to understand what I did and didn’t want posted of myself. As a result, I have kept my digital footprint quite small and private, and I have been able to limit the number of “cringe” or unwanted posts of myself on the internet. Even today, I mainly consume social media and it is very rare when I actually make a post (excluding twitter).

After watching Jon Ronson’s TedTalk I am almost relieved that I am not an active social media user. In today’s day and age, cancel culture and social media shaming happen so frequently and can have such large consequences. It is not uncommon to hear of someone who made a post or was recorded in public, and within days or even hours, they have been fired from their job or suspended from their school, and their future is permanently tainted. Ronson discussed the concept of democratizing justice and how social media has created a surveillance society. With that said, I don’t want to take away the power of social movements like #MeToo or Black Lives Matter which have created real change and have amplified victim’s voices. I do believe social media has the opportunity to create social change, however, I do recognize that there is a fine line present.

Overall, this week’s activity and blog prompt makes me question: Is having a small/private digital identity good, bad, or neutral? Is society moving to a place where one must have a prominent digital identity for future employers and jobs? Should I be making more of an effort to curate an identity online that I believe captures what I want to portray to others