What is a digital identity?

In the youtube video “What is Digital Identity”, Eric Stroller defines digital identity to be your presence online, as in everything you post, how you interact with others, how you use digital tools for your own benefit. He also discusses that digital identity is essentially the same as your digital footprint, as everything you post can be searched.  

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

Personal and professional approaches in social media vary as individuals often opt to separate their personal and professional lives. Oftentimes personal digital identities on social media share day to day lives, including photos, videos, tweets or other forms. Individuals also spend time scrolling through applications such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Tiktok, and communicating with their friends and family by sharing enjoyable videos and photos that others might relate to. Some individuals also join groups on Facebook where they can ask questions or gain insight into other people’s lives. On the other hand, professional approaches to digital identity include using social media as a platform to promote, educate or network with others. Individuals using social media in a professional manner tend to share educational resources, or discuss benefits of their companies/products while aso networking with individuals who are in similar or other industries to help their businesses grow larger and allow more people to have access to the information they are wanting to spread. 

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and benefits?

Digital identities allow for individuals to create profiles based on their likes, interests, hobbies and what they choose to share with the world. Digital identities converging in networked publics can be seen as a benefit because while discussing and networking with those around the world, whether they are in a different time zone, we are still able to communicate allowing us to feel like we are connected. Digital identities can converge in many different ways in different networked publics. For example, on instagram you can follow, message people, post pictures and videos, share pictures and videos. People can then like, comment, message you or share your post with others – this is where the interesting part of privacy comes in. Applications like instagram tend to allow for a more personal approach. On the other hand, there are also applications like LinkedIn, where people can connect with one another, message each other, apply for jobs, and share life and business updates. This application takes more of a professional approach. Each application has its own impacts and benefits, depending on what the individual is wanting to share or gain, but it is also important to remember that once something is online it can often be found through a quick google search of your name – showing everything that you have posted across multiple platforms.  

Can a digital wallet provide trust in networked publics? 

A digital wallet can seem convenient especially in our technologically savvy world today. However, it does come with many risks. It may provide trust in networked publics, however with scammers on the rise, especially in recent times, it may scare individuals to use digital wallets. Therefore, it may lead to more security concerns about information getting leaked or breached and individuals getting access to things such as banking information or lead to problems such as identity theft and fraud.