Topic 2 on Online Identity, Privacy and Security
The advancement of technology is changing the way we socialize and express ourselves (Chatti et al., 2007). As mentioned in Topic 1, the Internet has become a part of our everyday lives. However, when we perform social media activities, we are encouraged to divulge our personal data. It is easier to target customers as we hand over our data, which is a dream come true for marketers. However, this also opens us up to increased risk of security on the internet. We should be worried about where and what data we are giving away. Many of us use online identity opportunities with positive intentions but not all of them think likewise.. Below is a good example of using a fake online identity. Moral of the story: The internet can be dangerous so don’t get CATFISHED! (“Catfish”- Someone with a false identity online)
“Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.” – Mark Zuckerburg, 2010.
The preeminent Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerburg claimed that having two identities is an example of a lack of integrity. How do I feel about this? Let’s explore as we go along.
By presenting a completely false identity, it is surely more deceitful than someone managing their online profiles to different audiences. (Samantha E, 2014) Based on a research (Reppler, 2011), 91% of the employers use social networking sites to screen prospective employees, which is essential for one to separate their professional and personal online presence in order to portray the pertinent impression.
I personally feel that it is essential to cater appropriately to your audience, which made it a point to distinguish between professional and personal. Usually, I tend to show my personality on social media platforms to reveal my outgoing and crazy side, as seen from my introductory post. On the other hand, I present a different aspect of myself ever since MANG2049 where I reveal practical information on my LinkedIn which can be found by potential employers. Hence, I wouldn’t classify myself as having multiple identities, rather, to present different aspects of myself depending on the situation.
The rise of social networks’ presence make it increasingly difficult to live an anonymous life on the Internet. I do not think moderating online information about oneself is a dishonest act, rather, I thought it is practical and sensible as to what you want to reveal to the specific audience. All these platforms helps to create an online version of one’s true identity. Ultimately, one have to be mindful of what is appropriate to share, as we are governed by the fact that the current online world never forgets our action.
What are your views? Feel free to share with me!
Till then x
References:
Zimmer, M. (2010). FACEBOOK’S ZUCKERBERG: “HAVING TWO IDENTITIES FOR YOURSELF IS AN EXAMPLE OF A LACK OF INTEGRITY”.Available:http://www.michaelzimmer.org/2010/05/14/facebooks-zuckerberg-having-two-identities-for-yourself-is-an-example-of-a-lack-of-integrity/. Last accessed 1 December 2014.
Chatti, M. A., Agustiawan, M. R., Jarke, M., & Specht, M. (2010). Toward a Personal Learning Environment Framework. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 1(4), 66–85. Last assessed 1 December 2014.
(2011). . [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.reppler.com/2011/09/27/managing-your-online-image-across-social-networks/. Last Accessed 1 December 2014.
YouTube, (2014). Why is it called ‘Catfish’? [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCXEd5sZpGA . Last Accessed 1 December 2014.
(2014). . [ONLINE] Available at: http://samanthaeslinger.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/uosm2008-topic-2-multiple-online-identities/#. Last Accessed 1 December 2014.
Angie Ng 
A clear distinction made Angie! A rather important point made on the marketing context of where it is a “dream come true” for marketers where users literally trade personal information for services they obtain in return. Many of us fail to realize that we are literally trading out “online identities” for convenience. But the question is whether this creates more vulnerability when we sacrifice our privacy to gain content on the web.
The question of “control” of our online identities is petrifying. The moment we click on “sign up” on any of the social media platforms, we are literally “selling” off our personal information. The role of the Web 2.0 has created this “currency” where our personal data has become. Though it may seem a “dream come true” for marketers, users must be wary of their movements online. Awareness is crucial as we are slowly moving into the “Semantic Web” also known as Web 3.0!
References:
PCWorld, 2012. Data Snatchers! The booming market for your online identity. PCWorld. Available at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/258034/data_snatchers_the_booming_market_for_your_online_identity.html [Accessed December 1, 2014].
TED, 2013. What will a future without secrets look like? TED. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/alessandro_acquisti_why_privacy_matters [Accessed December 1, 2014].
Wired, 2014. From E-Commerce to Web 3.0: Let the bots do the shopping. Wired. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/09/e-commerce-to-web-3-0/ [Accessed December 1, 2014].
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Hi Khai,
Appreciate your kind comments. Yes, I do agree on your point that people nowadays fail to realize that we are trading our ‘online identities’ for convenience sake. Gradually, we become more vulnerable as people from all over the internet get assessed to our information, and this can pose as a threat to us.
Therefore, like what you have mentioned earlier on, users like us should be wary of our movements online and should constantly be aware of what’s going on around us. Looking forward to hear from you soon!
Cheers!
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Hello Angie,
I agree that we do keep our profiles between professional and personal just like how you mentioned- showing your fun and crazy side on social media platforms while being more demure and professional on institutional sites such as LINKEDIN.
However, after reading a few of our peers’ blog post and some readings online, I realise that EVERYTHING in the world has pros and cons, good and the bad. It is how we weigh and how we view things at a certain perspective. Having multiple identities, also commented in Evan’s post – https://evantangs.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/how-the-big-bad-wolf-targets-the-modern-red-riding-hood/ , I feel that employers who wish to screen your personality and know more about you might feel that you have something to hide like how you separated between LINKEDIN and other social media sites. This may cause an incomplete self when offline and viewers might not think of you as “fake”. According to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, and Richard Allan, its director of policy in Europe, a critical mass of people only want online interactions supported by “authentic” identity.
To me, actually it doesn’t matter if multiple or one identity because everyone is born unique and special in their own way. We just have to filter and share things that are appropriate and comfortable with, that, I guess would help to eliminate many Identity Thefts and Catfishing.
Overall, it was a great blog post there! 🙂
REFERENCE:
Masters, A. 2011. Identity on the Internet: The pros and cons of anonymity. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/09/19/identity-on-the-internet-the-pros-and-cons-of-anonymity/ [Accessed on 1 December 2014]
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Hi Winnie,
Thank you for your feedback, deeply appreciated! Yes, I couldn’t agree more on the fact that everything in this world has its pros and cons, it all depends on us on what kind of perspective we want to view it. Therefore, like what I’ve shared in my summary post earlier on, I feel there is absolutely no right or wrong in having one identity or multiple identities online.
Based on what you have shared on how having multiple identities can cause incomplete self to employers when offline, and how viewers might think of you as “fake” was an interesting takeaway for me! Similarly, I feel that it is alright to have multiple identities online as having pertinent impression matters. I believed employers would not want to hire someone with an inappropriate profile showing his/her wild and fun side even though he/she may not necessarily be like that at work. With that, I share similar sentiments as you where we just have to filter and share things that are appropriate and comfortable with to the public as well as to our potential employers.
Thank you for sharing your views, I look forward to hear from you soon!
Cheers!
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Typo error up there… – might think of you as “fake”.
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[…] when he is at work or with friends. At the same time, I thought it is interesting to point out Angie’s post who sees herself as not having multiple identities, but instead showcasing the different aspects […]
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Hello Angie!
I really liked the video you posted(*it was hilarious) and couldn’t agree with you more about about your point that we use the web with positive intentions but others might not think likewise,this teaches us to be really cautious and wary of what we display on our social media platforms and who we are giving our data to!
Furthermore I realised that you and Ian share the same views about Mark Zuckerburg’s statement, “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.” – Mark Zuckerburg, 2010. Having said that “91% of the employers use social networking sites to screen prospective employees” http://blog.reppler.com/2011/09/27/managing-your-online-image-across-social-networks/ ,which makes it absolutely necessary for us to separate our personal and work life, we have similar takes on this in my individual post.:) However, I think it shouldn’t be taken to an extreme whereby we put on a facade on knowing that employees would be screening us, being a completely different person from who you are. what do you think?
Cheers,
Amanda
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Hi Amanda,
It was great hearing from you! Thank you for your feedback 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed the video I’ve shared. Putting the humor of the video aside, I like how it taught us to be cautious and wary on what we display on social media platforms and who we are giving our data to. I believed you share similar sentiments as me on the point that not everyone on the internet are not filled with positive intentions, which results to countless of online scams, identity thefts and catfishing nowadays.
I agree on your point that it is absolutely necessary for us to separate our personal and professional profiles as having pertinent impression is crucial. Just like what you have mentioned, I agree that having multiple online identities should not be put to an extreme. Personally, I feel that one should not put on a facade knowing that our potential employers would be screening us. People should not take advantage of having multiple identities as showing a completely different person from who you are. Instead, the purpose of having multiple identities is to showcase a different aspect of oneself based on the situation. At the end of the day, they are still themselves. If people put on a facade by portraying a different ‘you’, they are simply unauthentic and would be deemed as ‘fake’ after getting to know their real personality.
Therefore, like what Winnie have shared, I supposed having one or multiple online identities is fine, we just have to filter and share things that are appropriate and comfortable with to the public as well as to our potential employers.
Looking forward to hear from you for the next few topics, cheers!
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are filled* with….. Pardon my typo 🙂
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[…] multiple identities is common. We have also established that digital footprints are important as Angie had […]
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Hi Angie,
I enjoyed reading your post! I always felt that there is nothing wrong with having multiple online identities. However, after you shared about the catfish prank video, you make me realize that some people do have a bad agenda when they create multiple online identities. Therefore, multiple online identities could be a bad thing if people start to manipulate it – through scamming etc.
I also like how you point out that sometimes having two accounts – professional and personal is not about having 2 different identities; its just different sides of us that made us who we are!
However I like to point out that though many employers screen potential employees online and this influence their hiring decision … do you think that this is an appropriate measure? This is because to what an extent do you think our line identity reflects the real us? As what Vyacheslav Polonski shared in an article (which Ebrahim shared) that the “online” us might differ greatly from the real us.
Looking forward for your reply =)
References:
Polonski, V., 2014. The evolution of social networking sites: the rise of content-centric platforms which favour the perpetual present. Available at:http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/01/15/the-evolution-of-social-network-sites-in-2014/.
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Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it! Similarly, I enjoyed reading your blog post too. I hoped you enjoyed reading mine as much as I enjoyed reading yours 🙂 Yes, I do have to agree that not everyone online are filled with positive intentions, which results to the countless online scams, identity thefts and catfishing nowadays. Therefore, the video taught us to always be cautious and wary of what is going up online and who we are giving our data to.
I like your point on what Vyacheslav Polonski shared; that the ‘online’ us might differ greatly from the real us. No doubt that having multiple identities of personal and professional is necessary, because majority of us would want to portray an appropriate front to our potential employers as pertinent impression counts. This measure can only be true to a certain extent as it is inevitable for some people to “fake” themselves online in order to secure a good impression. As shared with Amanda previously, I feel that one should not put on a facade knowing that our potential employers would be screening us. People should not take advantage of having multiple identities as showing a completely different person from who you are. Instead, the purpose of having multiple identities is to showcase a different aspect of oneself based on the situation. At the end of the day, if people put on a facade by portraying a different ‘you’, they are simply unauthentic and would be deemed as ‘fake’ after getting to know their real personality. Thus, it’s always good to be original, despite having more than one identity online.
Hope my answer helps you to understand this topic a little further. I look forward to see you in the next few topics, cheers!
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[…] anonymous through the creation of various accounts which brings back to what I’ve shared in Topic 2, where many used online identity opportunities with negative intentions which led to cyber-bullying […]
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