In this module, I have developed a deeper understanding of the concepts of “digital identity”, “visitor and resident maps”, “personalized learning theory”, and “privacy and surveillance”. These topics are not just relevant to our daily lives, they also have a profound impact on how we learn, work and interact with others.
Digital Identity: Personal vs. Professional:
I have not really thought about how my online presence should be differentiated in the past, but after this course, I realized that it is important to draw a line between my personal and professional digital identities. On social media such as Instagram, I may share my daily life, hobbies or interactions with friends, which is my “personal image”. On LinkedIn, my school’s website, or portfolio platforms, I present myself in a more professional way, including my academic background, work experience, and demonstration of my skills, which is my “professional identity”.
- To keep the boundary between the two, I have taken some specific steps:Separate social media: I have separate accounts, with my private account set to “friends only” and my professional account used to showcase my work and professional experience.
- Content style distinction: On career platforms, I will avoid posting non-job related content to ensure that my expression is professional and in line with the job search objectives.
- Regularly check privacy settings: I will regularly review each platform’s privacy policy and my account settings to avoid overexposure of personal information.
- Uniform professional account naming: as Aaberg suggests, using consistent, clean, and easily searchable usernames (e.g., @YourName) for professional platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, portfolio sites, blogs, etc.) helps me establish a clear professional brand identity and is easier to find by potential employers or collaborators. This naming scheme gives my online presence more consistency and credibility.
I think this distinction is important because different audiences have different expectations. A potential employer will have more confidence in me if they see my serious and professional image, while my friends may be more concerned about the real side of my life. If there are no boundaries, the situation of “using the wrong platform to say the wrong thing” may arise, which may even affect my career development.
Digital Visitor and Resident Map:
By studying David White’s “Digital Visitors and Residents” theory, I started to use this concept to analyze my online behavior. I drew my own digital map and realized that my roles on different platforms were not the same:
| Platform | my role | how to use |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor | Quickly check information, use without logging in | |
| YouTube | Resident | Have an account, subscribe to content, comment and interact |
| Resident | Share daily life, social interaction | |
| Resident | Share daily life, social interaction | |
| Brightspace | Resident&visitor | For class, have an account, some interaction |
| Vistoir | Have an account, rarely update or reach out to others |
From this map, I summarized a table and realized that I am more of a “resident” user on many personal platforms, focusing more on private areas. In the future, I hope to be more of a “resident” on academic and professional platforms, actively making connections and participating in discussions, so that I can help build my professional network. At the same time, I think this map will slowly change as I move into society. I’ll spend less time on certain entertainment platforms and more time on professional development-related platforms such as LinkedIn or GitHub, and this shift will affect the way I interact online.
Theories of Personalized Learning:
Self-directed learning theory emphasizes bringing learning closer to personal interests and needs, and I have really benefited from this in my studies. For example, I was able to reflect on my real-life experiences in the blogging assignment for this course, a format that inspired more engagement than a traditional exam. I was able to express ideas in my preferred style of language, and I was also able to see my classmates’ writing and learn different perspectives from it. In addition, I like to supplement my classroom content on platforms such as YouTube, where I feel more in control and motivated to learn in a “self-directed” way. For example, in my academic writing class, I once struggled with a formatting problem that I didn’t have time to answer by emailing a request, so I watched a video online to find the solution.
These experiences have led me to believe that personalized learning will help me with my future career plans as well. Personalized learning taught me to actively seek out resources instead of waiting passively for the others to explain. Also, It has fostered my habit of continuous learning, especially in areas where technology is constantly being updated (e.g. digital design or digital tools)
I hope to continue to improve myself in this way in my future studies or work.
Privacy, Surveillance, and Digital Footprint Awareness:
This part of the study was a bit of a “shock” to me. It turns out that our daily online behavior is constantly generating data that can be collected, analyzed and even sold by platforms. I realized that even liking a post or clicking on an advertisement are small actions that leave a digital footprint.
The following examples are behaviors that protect my privacy:
- Installation of ad-blocking plug-ins in browsers to reduce tracking behaviors
- Use different email addresses to register for different types of services to prevent being associated
- Clean up app and service accounts that are no longer in use on a scheduled period of time
- Enable two-step verification to safeguard account security
I’m also more careful about what to post and where to post . I used to share my travels and moods on public platforms, but now I prefer to post only in private groups or protected chats. The importance of focusing on privacy and surveillance is not just about the security of our personal information, it is about the control we have right over our identity.
Summary
This module helped me to really start to see myself as a “digital identity owner”. From understanding my online behavior through visitor-resident mapping, to improving my motivation through personalized learning, to learning to be cautious about my privacy, I have felt a sense of self-awareness in the digital world. I hope that in the future, I can continue to consciously build my professional image while remaining sensitive to the changes in the digital world, and be both a free and responsible online citizen.