Topic two discussed the concept of multiple identities online. This is a topic of interest for me particularly now that I am job searching and am more aware of the identity in which I am portraying online. Something which I had expressed in my blog was the issue of needing to stay professional even on personal accounts. Emma’s comment highlighted the question of whether everyone needs to do this, or whether we as students are more aware. This was thought provoking as I reinforced the idea of multiple identities having different implications on different groups of people, leaving some more aware of their social presence than others.
Reading Hei Lam’s blog regarding authenticity, then Gus’ article referring to how many employers screen candidates’ profiles made me consider my own online personalities more. Recently, changes were made to my own online profiles as I began applying for jobs, I began to tweak what could be seen and the things I would say. This then made me question whether tweaking my online personality to one that would be desirable for employers could be considered as decreasing my authenticity.
Reading others’ blog posts and the constant references of the TV show Catfish reminded me of just how relevant determining online authenticity is in everyday life. It bought to light the increasing ease of fraud in modern society, and how careful we must be, particularly as online services such as money transfers are increasing.
As well as learning about the positives and negatives associated with multiple identities this week, I have also learnt about how effective media is in blog posts. The media used by others acted eased my understanding of their points. On my blog I was able to use media to present my ideas in a more innovative and captivating way, something I will endeavour to expand in my future posts.
Claire's blog 