Online Identity Reflection

 

As most of us are about to go out into the world, it is important to reflect on the people we have become on social media.  I have heard over and over again from family members, supervisors, and professors to be aware of what I post online.  In this day and age, employers search social media sites to dive into more personal information about potential employees.  It is important for me, to keep those thoughts in mind when I am posting on my online accounts.  There are a variety of positive and negative consequences that are associated with the use of social media.  In this reflection, I examine my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to explore my identity online.  I find that it shows, that I am a busy college student, cautious about the information I share online, and I use social media in a way that helps me maintain good relationships.  Also, I will discuss the similarities and differences between my online identity and my academic and professional identity.

I started my social media journey on Facebook.  I joined Facebook in February of 2009, when I was about 12-years-old.  Thinking back on it, that seems quite young to have a social media account.  However, I did not have a cell phone at that point, so it was my main way of communicating with my friends.  I cannot go back far enough to see my first posts, but I know that I was not “friends” with any of my family members then.  It was years later when my family began to join Facebook.  I am sure that before they joined, I posted more expressive statuses because, I did not think anyone had control over my Internet usage and because I was young, and I was clueless on how it could affect me later in life.  Overall, most of my online activities in the last year have been posting new profile pictures, congratulating friends and family on achievements, sending condolences to those in need, sharing links about my hometown or Longwood, or updating my friends on my academic career.  To those that view my page, it is very evident that I am a busy college student pursuing a business degree.  If someone viewed my Facebook, they would not think it was a typical account because I do not share personal opinions on there and limit my posts, which is how sites like LinkedIn are used.  The content of my Facebook account positively represents me to my community and the business world.

Next, I reflected on my Instagram identity.  My first post was from April 2011, so I was 15.  Similar to Facebook, when I first joined Instagram, no family members followed me.  I have been more hesitant to post personal stances on my Instagram, which is the same way I use my Facebook.  It may be because I am not posting statuses but posting pictures of what I am doing or of myself.  I slowly started to get friend requests from family members, and even though I was not posting anything inappropriate, I always thought about what I was about to post because of family.  My pictures typically consist of family, my dog, my professional fraternity brothers, or my hometown friends.  I turned 21 in March, and only for my birthday, I posted a picture with alcohol in it.  Unlike some college students who post things that may not present themselves favorably, I have approached Instagram with more caution.  Therefore, I am consistent in my online identity and academic identity because I attempt to show a more professional side of myself.

Finally, I examined my Twitter account.  I joined Twitter in September of 2009 at about age 13.  With only 140 characters, people freely express their opinions on the site.  Twitter is the one account where I only have one family member who follows me.  I have typically been more expressive on that site, mostly because everyone is very open on Twitter.  My posts on Twitter are mostly thoughts that I have during the day that I wish to express but not to a large audience like Facebook.  For example, before last semester started I tweeted, “Am not mentally prepared for this semester…”  I posted it on Twitter to get it off my chest, but not to receive comments, as would typically happen if I posted it on Facebook.

In my opinion, Twitter has been used to vent or call people out anonymously.  At the same time, people who are friends with the tweeter, know who the tweet is about, coining the phase “subtweeting.”  This is an ineffective means of communicating and dealing with issues in relationships.  As I know these are not appropriate communication skills, I try to stay away from “subtweeting” as much as I can.  The difference between my online identity and academic identity is that I gripe more on Twitter then in real life.  A similarity between them is that I have a no drama approach and would rather have a conversation face-to-face when dealing with issues.

Overall, I believe that I portray a professional image on my social media accounts while also showing that I am still a young adult in college.  I strongly consider it to be due to the fact that I almost always have family members as friends on my account.  I believe that this had a positive effect on my professional identity.  I have always wanted to be perceived as mature and I believe because of that, an employer would not be dissatisfied with what they may find.  I tend to be more conservative and respectful on social media, and that represents my academic identity as well.  A possible negative effect from my online identity on social media could be that I tend to complain on Twitter when I could keep my thoughts to myself.  However, when I use Twitter, my posts are random frustrations rather than about relationships, because I believe maintaining good relationships with others is part of my academic and professional identity.  In all, I tend to be more reserved, have always been focused on exceeding academically and set a good example of myself to others, which is highly reflective of my online identity.