Reflections: So who are you?

Hi! Let us first take a look at the summary video that I made for this topic!

Content in the source: Future Learn, Jocelyn’s Post and Julian’s Post
Source: Kua Siew Min

I must say that I’ve gained a lot of insights from reading both blogs because they have different views on this topic. Before we start our reflection, let me talk about my online identity!

 

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The above is a short slide show that consists of my identity on the different social media platforms. Of course, the last one would be my LinkedIn profile which is made public for employers to view my resume and CV. Source: Kua Siew Min

From Jocelyn’s post, She raised a quote that really caught my attention,

“Different sites, different audiences, different purposes” – Nicole Lee

This is a new perspective for me because I never realised that the only reason why I held multiple accounts for my Instagram, is because I was catering to different audiences. Hence my integrity is not a question here because I am still creating truthful information on each site that I use for different purposes. In this case, my business account on Instagram is meant to show off my work and on the other hand, my personal account is meant for my friends.

From Julian’s post, you will find a good example to support having multiple identities.

NTUC Assistant Director fired for posting racist remarks on Facebook. Source: Yahoo News

It happened because she had a single identity and failed to realise that she was still in the public’s eye as an assistant director of a big organisation.

If you’ve read my previous post, you would know that 70 percent of employers now use social media to screen candidates before hiring them. Is it still possible to have a single identity and not leave a bad impression? Of course!

Source: Kua Siew Min
Content in the source: Business Insider  and The Guardian 

In conclusion, having single or multiple identities is up to personal preferences and as long as we know how to manage our social media content, both ways will work fine. I reckon that social media is an extra tool to judge a candidate but should not be the only tool used to decide whether or not to hire someone.

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References:

My previous post
Jocelyn’s Post
Julian’s Post

FutureLearn. 2017. What is your network identity? – Learning in the Network Age – University of Southampton. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-network-age/3/steps/263025.

Engadget. 2016. Having multiple online identities is more normal than you think -Nicole Lee [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.engadget.com/2016/03/04/multiple-online-identities/

YahooNews. 2012. NTUC fires Assistant Director for racist comments – Jeanette Tan [ONLINE] Available at:https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

BusinessNewsDaily. 2017. Keep It Clean: Social Media Screenings Gain in Popularity – Chad Brooks [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2377-social-media-hiring.html

TheGuardian. 2012. Online Identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important? – Aleks Krotoski [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/19/online-identity-authenticity-anonymity

BusinessInsider. 2016. 4 subtle social media mistakes that could make potential employers pass you by – Susan Brennan [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/4-subtle-social-media-mistakes-that-could-make-potential-employers-pass-you-by-2016-12/?IR=T

 

Topic 3: Single VS Multiple identities

When we’re online, we have identities just like in reality. However, the difference is that we can choose to portray who we really are or only show others what we want them to see. Let me introduce you to three types of identities.

Source: Kua Siew Min

Of course, it is our choice to make but there are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Source: Kua Siew Min
Content in Source: Future Learn

Moving on, you may ask me, “Which option is better?”
Well, my answer to you is, “Definitely not anonymous identity”.

According to an article the Cyber Bullying Research Center, there has been an increase in cyberbullying over the years.

Source: Cyber Bullying Research Center

When people go anonymous, they tend to be braver since they don’t have to worry about people finding out about who they are. This is when all the bad things like cyberbullying start to happen.

Well, what about Multiple identities and Single identity then?
According to an article by Business News Daily, 70 percent of employers now use social media to screen job candidates before hiring them.

Source: Jobvite

It is because people are afraid of employers digging up something bad about their personal life on social media that spark them to create multiple identities.

To add on, Richard Allan (Facebook director of policy in Europe), mentioned in an article that authentic identity outweighs the costs. He explained that Facebook allows people to curate what’s public and private and this will help to facilitate the data that are being shared with the employers. This means that we don’t have to create separate profiles but instead be in the know of what to make public and private.

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References:

FutureLearn. 2017. What is your network identity? – Learning in the Network Age – University of Southampton. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-network-age/3/steps/263025. [Accessed 20 November 2017].

CyberBullyingOrg. 2016. Summary of Our Cyberbullying Research (2004-2016) – Justin W. Patchin [ONLINE] Available at: https://cyberbullying.org/summary-of-our-cyberbullying-research

TheGuardian. 2012. Online Identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important? – Aleks Krotoski [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/19/online-identity-authenticity-anonymity

BusinessNewsDaily. 2017. Keep It Clean: Social Media Screenings Gain in Popularity – Chad Brooks [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2377-social-media-hiring.html