Blog Post #2 Digital Identity
When I think of the term “Digital Identity” I think of one’s actions and the way they present themselves online. The combination of someone’s pictures they post online, comments they make, choices, and actions are all a part of their digital identity. In other words, if someone were to do a background check on every single post, comment and decision you make online, then they would essentially be uncovering your digital identity or your personal data. This is why I must always remember to be mindful of how I present myself online because even if you delete things, they remain online forever.
I consider myself to be quite active on social media and I tend to keep things rather public online. By this I mean that I will frequently post pictures and ideas for others to view, however, I never give others access to anything I don’t want them to know. That being said I do keep most of my accounts public as I have never experienced any negative aspects of social media to an extent. I will only let people who I personally know have access to things like my location or information ex) my phone #. I typically just post pictures of myself and my friends or pictures of places I’ve travelled. Occasionally I will post funny videos or posts I find interesting on my public story. If anyone ever harasses me or posts things I don’t want to see, I simply block them without hesitation. Like I said, I haven’t really had any negative experiences online so I choose to remain myself online which is very open and sociable rather than closed off and private since I don’t see the need to, however, I still do make safe decisions rather than ignoring obvious safety threats or sketchy people online.
When it comes to future jobs and careers I try to stay as professional as I can for the most part online. At the same time, I might refrain from posting stupid and goofy content, however, I do try and remain myself online which at times can be a bit goofy. I tend to keep profanities away from my public page and within the private chats I have with my friends, but other than that there’s not much I find that I need to hide. I’m a pretty open book and I’m not afraid to be myself online.
Personal approaches online in comparison to professional approaches are fine, as long as you are keeping things friendly and harmless. If you are someone who enjoys posting funny videos and goofy selfies with your friends, so be it. As long as you know where to draw the line and know what is appropriate for social media and what is not. Of course, if you are a very career-oriented person who thinks that scoring a top job will make your life complete, then by all means keep things serious and professional for your future employers but at least for myself, I am able to find a common ground between the two.
An example of how I ensure that the two complement rather than conflict with one another is by coming off as more “human”. What I mean by this is that a lot of people who want to appear as professional as possible, are really just putting up a smokescreen to hide their true selves. I on the other hand like to express myself professionally, but at the same time be myself. This shows employers that you have multiple layers to your personality and you might have ideas and interests that they resonate with or find useful, rather than the typical LinkedIn user who posts nothing but BS that they want their future employers to believe. An example is when I was hired for my current job, my employer saw on my social media that I played hockey, and he thought that was neat as he played as well. Although a picture of me playing hockey is a personal post, it helped me as I now have something in common with my boss.Â
Looking ahead, I plan on remaining the same way I am now online, however, I do plan on being more aware and vigilant when it comes to strangers online, as people are getting better and better at scamming and remaining anonymous by the day. I plan on using new social media platforms as they arise so that I can stay up to date on news, trends and potential career interests. I will continue to be myself but stay safe at the same time.