Digital Identity – CC1

I believe a digital identity is how a person presents themselves on the internet, but I now realize it is more than what we choose to post. It is also shaped by how others and digital platforms interpret what we share. My digital identity has developed differently across platforms. I use LinkedIn, X, and YouTube to develop my professional network, while Instagram and WhatsApp are connected to my personal life, family, and friends.

Before this course, I thought digital identity was mainly about the leisure side of my life. After reading Spracklen (2015), I started thinking about identity as something we actively perform depending on our social environment. Spracklen draws on Goffman to argue that our interactions are not necessarily authentic, and that leisure forms such as sports and food act as uniforms for the roles we play. He also draws on Cohen’s idea that communities are divided by symbolic boundaries, so belonging depends on showing that you know the right things. I can see both ideas in my social media use. On LinkedIn, I highlight my education, professional experience, and skills like financial modelling because that is the uniform the finance community recognizes. On Instagram, I share hiking, food, and sports because those are the parts of my identity that fit my personal network. I am choosing which parts of myself are most relevant to each audience.

These identities are not completely separate. Because I want to work in finance, I learn beyond class. Every morning, I listen to investment podcasts on YouTube, follow financial news on X, and read the memos of famous investors like Howard Marks. As an example, one of my favorite memos from Howard Marks is called AI Hurtles Ahead which helped me understand how AI impacts the finance industry. Spracklen describes a respondent who reads the New Statesman and Channel 4 News without commenting, yet still gains a sense of belonging. This is similar to how I use these platforms. In Bourdieu’s terms, this quiet consumption helps me build the cultural capital I may need to participate in professional conversations later in my finance career.

Gutierrez (2016), drawing on EdWeek, describes a Personal Learning Network as three rings around the individual, with experts and public figures in the outermost ring. Howard Marks occupies that space in my own network. I know my degree cannot prepare me for everything the finance industry will require, so the network I create through LinkedIn, X, and the internet becomes a continuous source of knowledge.

For me, developing a digital identity is not about creating a perfect online version of myself. It is about being intentional about what I share, who I learn from, and how different parts of my identity connect. Do other students feel their personal and professional digital identities are becoming harder to separate? I would also love to know which voice in your outer ring has taught you the most without ever knowing you exist?

References:

Gutierrez, K. (2016). What are personal learning networks? SHIFT eLearning. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/personal-learning-networks

Spracklen, K. (2015). Identity-making and social media. In Digital leisure, the internet and popular culture (pp. 94 to 112). Palgrave Macmillan. https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/chapter/10.1057/9781137405876_6

Goffman, Cohen, and Bourdieu are cited as they appear in Spracklen (2015).