My online identity is something that I have become more aware of within the last few years. Within the last year it has become something that I have been aware of due to the sorority I joined in January. Also, with my graduation from college date rapidly approaching, I have begun to try to clean up my social media and have tried to be conscious of what I am posting. My posts on Facebook and Instagram have changed drastically over the last year or two. I even look back on things I have posted in the past and cannot believe I was posting such things. Posing as an outsider looking in at my social media, it is visible to me that my maturity level has grown. Unlike the past, I now primarily make posts that relate to my future career and the important parts of my life.

In the past, I never took any time to think twice about what I posted on social media. The most inappropriate posts were pictures of me and others drinking underage. In these pictures, there was not even an attempt to hide the alcohol and viewers can tell that we were intoxicated. With how many posts there are that include drinking or going out, it is evident that my academics were not my top priority. At the time of those posts, academics indeed were not my top priority. If future employers were to see these posts they would not have a very positive opinion about me and most likely would not hire me. Not only are these inappropriate to future employers, but they are also inappropriate and against the bylaws of the sorority I am a member of.

Joining a sorority has influenced much of what I post on my social media. Not only have my posts turned into more things about my sorority, but my posts have also become more sensible. Because of my sorority, I now think twice about what I am posting, because not only am I representing myself, but I am also representing this national organization. I would never want any of my sisters to be viewed negatively because of something inappropriate that I have posted. My posts in the past year have changed significantly because I have become aware of how it can affect the people I surround myself with.

Looking at posts from more recently, it is evident that academics, as well as my sorority, have become my top priorities. The majority of my posts within the last two years have been about art, education, art education, and art therapy. Many of my posts are also about me doing homework or pictures of my completed art work. Compared to what my posts were in the past (drinking, partying, etc.), this is a sure sign that my maturity level has increased. My posts are not simply just random things anymore. They are well thought out and are greatly important to me. Unlike in the past, when I post something on social media I try to think about if the post is something I will later look back on and regret. With that said, I typically only post things now about how school is going, what my sorority is up to, and most importantly, articles and such on art education and art therapy. At least three times a week, I will post an article on art therapy, and how it is making a difference in peoples’ lives. Since art education is my major, and art therapy is my dream job, the amount of things I post of the topics definitely relays how important both of those things are to me. I have even started to go back through my old posts and pictures and remove the ones that can be inappropriate to future employers. Unfortunately, I still have a habit of reposting certain jokes, videos, etc. that could give off a poor impression of myself. These types of posts are definitely not as frequent as they used to be, but they still occur sometimes. It does seem that I typically apologize about the language used within some of the jokes or videos; but nonetheless, this still does not make up for the fact that I am posting such things.

Art education and art therapy are at the top of my priorities list. Whenever I find an interesting article or study on either of the two, I immediately share it on my Facebook to try to educate other people about the two. Also by posting these types of things, future employers will see how interested I am in my field of work and that I am constantly trying to better my methods of teaching and knowledge of the art world. What can negatively affect my future though are some of the jokes I repost, or even some of the things I just find humorous about drinking. For example, I have reposted something before that says something along the lines of, “What I need: -A whole bottle of wine. –A million dollars. -3 days worth of sleep”. Things like this could possibly be taken the wrong way by future employers and be seen as inappropriate or give off a false impression of myself. With that being said, I will definitely become more aware of the things I post along those lines and really think about if what I am posting may be a deciding factor of whether I get a job in the future or not.