This document summarizes interviews conducted with college students about their social media use and digital identity development. Some key points: - Students see their online identities as adapting to different social media platforms, wearing "different masks" or highlighting different "pieces" of themselves on each site. - Many feel pressure to curate perfect images and highlight only positive moments due to social comparison. This leads some to feel constant failure or dissatisfaction. - Students note the exhaustion of feeling they must constantly perform and keep up appearances online. Some see their peers' highlight reels as masking real struggles. - As they mature, students strive for self-authored identities online, making conscious choices about social media rather than just

1. w/ Dr. @PaulGordonBrown
AfterTheApp
TheSocialMediaLivesofCollegeStudents

2. @paulgordonbrown
www.paulgordonbrown.com
paulgordonbrown@gmail.com

3. @paulgordonbrown

4. @paulgordonbrown

6. “Iusedtotrytonotbefriendswith
mymomandmyauntsandstuff,
butnowI'mactuallyfriendswitha
lotofthembecauseIfeellike
they’reusingitmorethanIam.”
Ryan

7. “Formymom,herprivacysettingsarewaystronger
thaneveryoneelse’s.Ispecifically[setmyprivacy
settingssomymother]cannotlookat[my]
pictures…
Shealwaysasksme,‘Whycan’tIseeyourpictures?’
[Ireply],‘Idon’tknowmom,youknow,
it’saFacebookproblem.’”
Logan

8. “Ihaveallmygrandparentsandaunts
andunclesonFacebooksoIcouldsee
howthatwouldn'tbeappealingto
youngerpeople.Thenyouhavethe
pressureoftheauntwhokeepstryingto
friendyou.Thathappenedtomeafew
yearsagoandIkeptignoring,andshe
wouldbringitupatChristmas.”
Ryan

9. “Allofmyauntsand
unclesjustgotFacebook.
Ithinkbecausetheyhave
notasmany[friends]…
AnythingthatIpost,ever,
isinstantlycommentedon
byallofthem.It'shilarious.
Likeeverysingletime.”
Ellie

10. “Myauntsandmyfamily,theyareverymuch
activeon[Facebook].It'snewtothem,soto
getalikefromtheirniecewouldbeexciting…
IprobablylikethingsthatIdon'tevenlike…
Myauntjustpostedthis…
I’llprobablyjustlikeitbecauseIhaven'tcalled
herinawhile.”
Ryan

11. “‘Oh,Idon’treallycarewhatIputup
there.’…That'showmymomstarted
out.Nowshetakesselfieswithher
phonebeforegoingouttodinnerwith
mydad.Shespentalotoftimedoingit…
They'reconstructinganonlineidentityat
middleage.It'sjustweirdtowatch.”
Ryan

12. “It'sweirdtolookovermymom’sshoulderandsee
shetookabunchofpicturesofus,andshe's
thinkingaboutwhatcaptionstoput.It'sfunnytosee
herbackspaceanddoitagain,backspaceanddoit
again.Ineverthoughtofmymomassomeonewho
wasconcernedabout[it].Sheprobablyseesher
friendsdoingprettyinterestingthingslikegoinginto
NewYorkCity.Allofasuddenshe'slike,‘I'vegotto
sharepictureswhenIdothingslikethattoo…’
Idon'tknow,it'sfunny.”
Ryan

13. GainLossvs

14. Loss

15. Prince Ea: Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?

16. GainLossvs

17. Gain

18. Jason Silva: Shots of Awe

19. GainLossvs

20. Just because you use social media…
doesn’t mean
well.
you know how to use it
@paulgordonbrown

21. myth
the
of the
Digital Native

22. 1 2
We’re Going To Explore Two Topics Today
Digital Identity
or Reputation
Digitized
Development
@paulgordonbrown

23. Digital Identity
@paulgordonbrown@paulgordonbrown

24. Digital Identity
@paulgordonbrown
Or more accurately, digital identities,
are the personas, data, and actions
we take online as well as the
reputation of those identities and
how they are viewed by others.
@paulgordonbrown

25. @paulgordonbrown

26. digital stamp
@paulgordonbrown

27. FROM THE WOMB!
We even have digital stamps
@paulgordonbrown

28. Your Name
@paulgordonbrown

29. Your Name
What is the first thing that comes up?
Is it you?
Is it someone else?
What do you want to come up?

30. BE
AWARE!
@paulgordonbrown

31. We need to educate each other
on digital reputation.

32. TheInternetIs
Forever
@paulgordonbrown

33. Yourparents
willprobably
postan
embarrassing
pictureasa
#TBT.
@paulgordonbrown

34. Mistakesand
embarrassing
photoscan
followus
forever.

35. THINK
POST
beforeyou
@paulgordonbrown

36. collegesandemployers
arelistening
@paulgordonbrown

37. of recruiters use or plan to begin
using social networks/social
media for recruiting
94%
Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2013

38. @paulgordonbrown

39. PrivacyIs
YourProblem
@paulgordonbrown

40. You assume
RESPONSIBILITY!
When it comes to privacy…
@paulgordonbrown

41. raiseyour
privacy
settings
@paulgordonbrown

42. BUT
@paulgordonbrown

43. itlowers
yourpotential
impact
@paulgordonbrown

44. PUBLIC
PRIVATE
@paulgordonbrown

45. @paulgordonbrown

46. BeA
Digital
Change
Agent
@paulgordonbrown

47. clicktivism
go beyond How do we
define
“meaningful”
participation?
Adam Gismondi, Ph.D.
@AdamGismondi / @TuftsIDHE
Institute for Democracy & Higher Education

48. social media and civic engagement…
Allows fast,
customized
information
gathering
Facilitates
information
sharing
Drives civic
learning and
organization
Adam Gismondi, Ph.D.
@AdamGismondi / @TuftsIDHE
Institute for Democracy & Higher Education

49. but it also… Lead to an
avoidance of civil
debate
Adam Gismondi, Ph.D.
@AdamGismondi / @TuftsIDHE
Institute for Democracy & Higher Education
Create an
intimidating
environment for
early-stage
development

50. Digital Identity
@paulgordonbrown@paulgordonbrown

51. Digitized Development
@paulgordonbrown@paulgordonbrown

52. Digitized Development
@paulgordonbrown
is the underlying developmental
processes that inform how we
understand ourselves and our
behavior in digital spaces.
Digitized development can carry
unique properties from offline
development.
@paulgordonbrown

53. It’s A Psychological Process!
@paulgordonbrown

54. eRezLife
Digitized Development

55. MarciaBaxterMagolda’s
TheoryofSelf-Authorship

56. Student explores and experiments
openly with social media. This is
strongly influenced by authorities
(parents/guardians) through access
and peers through peer culture.
Student does not understand how
online and offline interactions can
impact each other or possess a
sophisticated understanding of
context.
Student makes conscious choices about
social media usage and how it fits into life
desires, outlook, and goals.
Student realizes that one’s online life
requires constant renegotiation as one’s
goals, needs, contexts, and
circumstances change.
@paulgordonbrown

57. Pursuitof
Likes
@paulgordonbrown

58. “HowmanyLikesdid
yourpostget?”
“Whatdoesthatmean?”
Addie

59. “Thatnumberinitself
doesn’tmeananything
unlessyoucompareitto
otherposts.”
-Addie
@paulgordonbrown

60. “Thenyougetinthatwhole
thingwherepeoplestart
comparingthemselvesto
otherpeople.Thatreallyisn’t
thebestroutetogodown.”
Addie
“You’rethinkingaboutit
toomuch.”

61. IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE
Curating
Perfected
Images

63. “…inthebackofmy
mindthere’sacertain
standardofinteraction
thatIgetoneverysingle
tweetthatIwantto
makesureIdon’tdrop
below.”
-Mesut

64. IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE
Selective
Viewof
Reality

65. Higton Bros: What’s On Your Mind

66. “…weusesocialmediaasa
highlightreelofourlivesand
howmanytimesoutoften
wouldyousaythatyou
wouldn'tpostsomething
becauseit'snotahighlight.”
-Hallie
@paulgordonbrown

67. There'salotoftimeswhenyouthinkthat
peoplehavethebestlifeeverbecauseof
whatthey'reposting. Wheninreality
they'regoingthroughalot,andprobably
manysimilarthingsthatyouare,but
becausethey'repostingallthisfunstuff,
youthinkthattheirlivesareperfect.”
-Hallie

68. masks
adance
outfits

69. “…it’salmostlikedoinga
dancethatyoucan’tbe
toomuchofsomething.”
-Liam
@paulgordonbrown

70. games
playing

71. “I'vegottokeepup.”
-Annie
@paulgordonbrown

72. “Yeahit’sexhausting…
it’swhatcausesmy
unhappiness…
thecomparisonsget
sointense…
IfeellikeI’mjusta
constantfailure”
-Logan

73. IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE
Consuming
Perfected
Images

74. “That’swhat,Iassume,[is]
causingmygreatest
dissatisfactionat[college].
Seeingmylifeincomparison
toothers.”
-Logan
@paulgordonbrown

75. “Idefinitelythinkaboutit
morethanIshould.”
-Ashley
@paulgordonbrown

76. Weneedtolearn
toown,rather
thanbeowned
by,technology.
@paulgordonbrown

77. social media
can be used
for so much
MORE

78. be a good partner
in learning

79. Stay
current
ontech
trends.

80. ISTE STANDARDS
FOR STUDENTS
2016

81. 2016 ISTE Standards for Students

82. teacheachother
inunderstanding
thesetools
@paulgordonbrown

83. teacheach
otherhowto
collaborateand
accomplish
groupwork
online
@paulgordonbrown

84. learndigital
citizenshipskills
@paulgordonbrown

85. become
digitally
literate
@paulgordonbrown

86. Teachand
learnabout
managing
digital
reputations.
@paulgordonbrown

87. making
mistakes
isbetter
than
faking
perfections

88. don’t lead
fearwith
@paulgordonbrown

89. don’t lead with
shame
@paulgordonbrown

90. vulnerable
be
@paulgordonbrown

91. It’sokay…andevenadvised…
totakeabreakfrom
technologyonoccasion.

92. be a good partner
in learning

93. @paulgordonbrown
www.paulgordonbrown.com
paulgordonbrown@gmail.com

95. MoreSeparate
Digital/PhysicalWorlds
MoreIntegrated
Digital/PhysicalWorlds
Analogies

96. “Differentmasks,orthe
differentfacesI'llputonfor
differentsocialmedia
platforms.It’snotnecessarily
thatI'macompletelydifferent
person,butit'sjustdifferent.”
-Meghan

97. “Ihavethisoneidentitybutit
kindofmoldsalittlebittomatch
whatisnecessaryforeachsocial
network.Notnecessarilylying
aboutmyselfit’sjustthatIkindof
fitmyidentityintothatspecific
oneIguess.”
-Logan

98. “It'slikeapieceofyouand
eachsocialmediaoutletisa
differentpieceofyou…”
-Grace