Growing up with social media, it has been a part of my life for nearly ten years now. It is tough to imagine a time where I couldn’t reach out to my network of friends, colleagues, and contacts in a moment’s whim.
Networking with social media means connecting, communicating, and building meaningful relationships with people using digital platforms. This can be to share complex ideas to foster discussion and innovation, or to share memes and intrusive thoughts to foster community and connectedness. Because of its accessibility being online, the city you live in or the people you know don’t limit who you can connect with. You can search various platforms to find people who live near you, work in the same field as you, or have the same passions as you.
People join online networks for plenty of reasons, but the greatest is that, as humans, we naturally want to connect with others. Having this massive tool now allows us to do so on a much bigger scale. We can express ourselves, share information, and feel heard by a global audience. We find our own ways to stick out while finding communities we fit into. Having all of this so quickly accessible attracts massive communities to motivate others to join digital spaces.
There are plenty of risks and rewards to all of this. On the upside, you can build so many more relationships, and present yourself to the world in order to have your different talents noticed. You can learn and grow your interests and the depth of knowledge you have on your passions. And you can express yourself exactly how you want to. On the downside, there are plenty of privacy leaks that happen out of the blue, and come as a slap in the face to remind us that the internet is forever. Because of this, misinformation spreads like wildfire, and the internet adds another layer to things like bullying and harassment, with little accountability and regulation.
My digital identity is who I am online. Everything I have ever said and done online, as well as all of the people who have ever said or done anything online, that includes me somehow. All of this influences and shapes how people view me online. This could be posts, my profiles, comments, likes, videos, pictures, etc.
Personal online identity means how I share my life, my hobbies, and my interests. Showing off my passions to the world allows others who see my profile to relate to me, and find mutual passions that we share. My professional online identity is how I brand myself. What accomplishments do I show off, what content do I repost, comment on, or like, that relates to my field, and what skills have I demonstrated for others to see and compliment.
My digital identities converge online anytime someone googles my name. The swim club I work for, my Linkedin account, and my awards show up alongside my instagram and posts from clubs and organizations I’ve been a part of throughout my life. People who do so get to see a bunch of different aspects of my life and see how I work and play, to get a well rounded image of me
