Back in the olden days, as we like to call them, one’s identity was formed organically, a culmination of actions, words, choices and thoughts. Today, we possess a myriad of identities, propelled through the ever-evolving digital world, where social interaction runs wild in the form of 140-character statements, filtered photos, 6 second videos, endless likes, comments, status updates, check-ins, pins, snaps that last mere moments, and the list goes on. Every minute of the day we are hurling content into the world, stamped with our names on it.
Many users take great pride in the identity they project on social channels, carefully calculating every move to mold that perfectly rounded persona. Most, however, do not. How many times have you pushed “send” only realizing a split second later that you should have thought about it longer? In our fast-paced, instant-update world, this happens on a routine basis. And those people who are carefully calculating? It happens to them too …Mostly on Saturday nights. The truth is, with all the digital socializing we take part in, who can maintain perfection? Sooo you instagrammed a collage of tequila shots, you with your face buried in them, you licking your friend’s cheek…and you wake up to find you’ve also posted it to Facebook, where each and every one of your aunts has already commented, and on Twitter, where you’ve been fostering professional relationships for months, now presumably ruined. Don’t you sometimes wish you could leave your phone at home and avoid this humiliation altogether? …But how would you survive the night?
To avoid all of this mess, many turn to privacy settings; locked profiles, blocked “friends”, limited sharing and pseudonyms. It is a paradoxical social environment, where the goal is to socialize and share, but only with a select group of people.
As we well know, it is not uncommon for employers, friends, enemies, family and colleagues to examine social profiles – an act we’ve so swiftly deemed “creeping”. Before even entering an interview or going on a blind date, it’s quite likely the person already knows you have a dog, you recently had a bad service experience and felt the need to complain about it publicly, and you are a bit nutty for Beyonce …does it matter that these inconsequential facts are floating freely in the public space?
The question is, where do we draw the line? How do you decide what content will become apart of your public identity, and what will remain purely personal? The line is certainly a blurry mess – with only the likes of LinkedIn to guide us with its professional tone and purpose. In most cases, it’s up to us to decide what we’re posting, and why.
There’s no right answer here, because we all have unique intentions for the content we project, some to meet new people, others to seek out new jobs or opportunities, many to promote new businesses and others simply looking to participate. However, it’s more important than ever to think about your identity in the digital space, to examine the intention for each of your social profiles. If you come to realize one of your profiles should maintain a professional persona, keep that in mind moving forward, and maybe think about disconnecting it from your other non-professional channels, to avoid the regrettable overlap.
It’s easy to say you don’t care about the content in your profiles – You’re a human being! You have a drink from time to time! You complain! It’s a free world! It sure is, and all the power to you. Just remember… You won’t be in your twenties forever, and one day that free spirit of yours may come back to haunt you …in a nutshell.
Thanks for this article. Currently studying Digital Literacy and found your article to be really helpful and a huge eye opener. We forget so easy what kind of digital foot prints we leave behind posting all our updates and pictures on a day to day basis.