Digital Identities
I was born in 1997. From the time I remember, I have always been a consumer of media. I vividly remember watching PBS Kids before kindergarten, watching ABC Family before hopping on the bus in elementary school, then actively on our Gateway desktop throughout my childhood. Throughout my lifetime, technology has drastically changed. One of my favorite pastimes in the media was communicating with friends through AIM, Skype, ooVoo, which led to iChat and FaceTime once Apple products became big. As time went on, Facebook became the new “big thing” and with parental supervision, I quickly made an account to upload statuses, pictures, videos, and more.
As soon as I started high school, everyone had the newest iPhone while I was still using my Blackberry “BBMing” with my friends. After I begged my parents for an iPhone, I was quick to download SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter, and every other big social media platform. Soon, these apps consumed my life. I was documenting my whole life from the moment I woke up, had cheerleading practice, ate dinner, bought something new, etc. While I was in high school, technology was big because we entered a realm where students were handed Chromebooks at the beginning of the year which gave us internet access 24/7. I believe this time in my life was an incredibly low point. Social media was such a tricky thing with young women. With Instagram especially, we needed validation. There would be times where I would sit by my phone to see how many “likes” I got on my newest post. This was very unhealthy, but I knew all the girls were doing it too.
When I started college, my view as a digital author changed. With my life rapidly changing, I seemed to be less reliant on social media. I did not care about likes anymore, and rarely posted. My main focus was primarily on content for class. In my personal life, I became more active and put my health and wellness first. As a digital author, my search engine was different ways to stay active, ways to become a healthier version of myself, and looked up to “healthy influencers.”
I’m sure just like everyone else, once 2020 rolled around and the pandemic came into full effect, I became reliant on social media again because what else was there to do? I was watching a ton of YouTube videos of influencers’ lives and became addicted to TikTok, and was actively on different social media platforms. During this time I felt that my mental health was crumbling. Everyday I woke up and did the same thing: woke up, check Instagram, have breakfast, lunch, TikTok, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, dinner, repeat. Once I started graduate school the following year, my digital identity as a creator was mainly through homework, projects, and papers.
Today, my digital identity shifted again. I am a part-time graduate student so my main focus is not solely for educational purposes. In addition to being in school, I have two part-time jobs. One job is as a pre-kindergarten teacher. As a teacher, I am responsible for creating activities for them that will increase their developmental growth. I rely on platforms such as Pinterest to find inspiration. My other part-time job is working in social media for a restaurant. For this job, I am a content creator who is responsible for planning, photography, videography, and editing. Everyday I am planning and creating content that will get customers through our doors. Throughout this experience, I have learned that I have had multiple identities as a digital creator. I believe that I am both a creator and consumer of the digital world. #EDC534
