What is a digital identity?

As this week’s reading Dear Internet! Who am I? states, “Identity is what it means to be who one is including the qualities and beliefs, distinguishing a person or a group from others.” So with this definition of identity in mind, following that logic a digital identity is when someone is identifying and finding their place within the overarching location of the internet- it is how they present and then sort themselves into a specific group or niche.

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

The way that one would present themselves changes drastically when considering a personal versus professional approach. It’s like the difference between showing up to a job interview in jeans and a T-shirt versus wearing a suit and tie – you present yourself the way that you would like to be perceived by others. This same principle applies to digital identity. Presenting a professional image so that you are perceived as such is very important in crafting an online image for yourself. Doing things such as using proper language and avoiding slang, maintaining formal language, not oversharing personal matters that do not relate to your professional persona, are all relevant in a professional approach to social media use. Although a more casual approach might be more comfortable, it runs the risk of making you seem uncommitted or amateur to other people in the field.

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Because every person is sharing this seemingly endless and grand expanse of information known as the internet – it can be hard to keep digital identities separate. Striking a balance between professional personas as well as a more lax and casual social networking account is certainly an area of conflict with quite a lot of personal interpretation. Some potential impacts of that are either having these two become too separate so that the compartmentalization of your personality is so on the nose that you lose any sense of self. And then the opposite potential impact is not being able to keep them separate, and mixing business and pleasure into one unknown mass. The way that an individual will be impacted is incredibly dependent on the person and how they themselves function with their relationship to technology, which is why it’s important to consider which potential impact you’re more likely to be affected by. This is especially relevant in today’s age where so many people are working online and must maintain some level of professional digital identity. 

However, the benefit of these two identities converging is that all this is at your fingertips, and you can still “log out” from it. If something goes awry or a situation is stressful regardless of it being personal or professional, at the end of the day a person can still unplug from it. It is easier to let go of stressors when it all culminates in the same place.