Navigating Digital Identity and Presence in the Modern Age

 

Digital Identity: Personal vs. Professional

In the modern world our online persona matters on a professional and personal level. Whereas for example LinkedIn show our qualifications and career aspirations, platforms such as Instagram or TikTok may reflect our personal interests or opinions. I believe it’s important to almost have a fence between the two. As Stroller mentioned, your digital persona should be a reflection of your beliefs and objectives, whether those are to express your creativity or join a professional network! Keeping your personal and professional lives apart promotes safety and trustworthiness. I definitely favour my privacy settings to restrict content for the appropriate audience, for example I limit what i share publicly.

Digital Visitor and Resident Map

My perspective on my internet behaviour has changed as a result of David White’s “Visitors and Residents” approach which we also discussed in class. I made a map that contrasts platforms that I actively stay on and use and with those that i just sometimes use. Overtime, i discovered I’ve become more of a Visitor on educational sites like YouTube, where i not only learn from what I’m watching but i also watch it for entertainment.  Overall, this change in my engagement with different social media’s is a reflection of my increasing understanding of how digital environments influence my learning and identity!

Theories of Personalized Learning

Theories of personalized learning like constructivism and self-directed learning  place a really strong emphasis on adjusting instruction on each students unique interests. This method appeals to me, particularly when i use internet resources to study subjects I’m interested in at my own pace and convenience.  For instance, i learned a lot of terms in psychology for school via social media, and i was more motivated when i had control over the information. The notion that students flourish when they have their freedom and autonomy is supported by these theories. For me, the ability to blend official and unofficial tasks, such as Reddit discussions or videos, keeps me more interested.

Privacy, Surveillance, and Digital Footprint Awareness

Almost every single thing we do online leaves a digital footprint. This creates privacy issues even if it can assist our experiences. The information that we look at online indicates that surveillance programs are frequently monitoring our personal data without our knowledge. Something i do to ensure my privacy more is to create really strong passwords (not the same one for everything), be hesitant when clicking on suspicious sites, and ALWAYS have caution before i post anything. Doing these little things have helped me to be more selective about the platforms i use. To make the internet a safer place we should all take action to protect both our own and others privacy.

Below are some ways to protect your digital footprint:

  • Use a VPN
  • make your passwords strong
  • delete old accounts
  • block third-party cookies