Week 3 Blog

Digital identity

A digital identity comprises information about a person, an electronic device, or an organization existing online (Orsatti & Riemer, 2015). This information can be detected through the help of unique identifiers and can be used by advertisers and website owners to recognize and track users and subsequently personalize the target content based on user preference. A digital identity is usually created whenever an individual uses personal information on a website or creates shadow data while navigating online. Typically, a digital identity is perceived as contextual because users commonly provide selective information when required to validate their information.

How personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use

Since a digital identity is perceived as contextual, online users can customize their approaches when using social media based on the context of their interaction to meet a specific objective, which can either be personal or professional. To fulfill personal objectives, a social media user can adopt an informal communication approach, which can involve providing casual personal information or creating a pseudonymous profile to interact with other social media users. When using social media for personal use, the user can decide to reveal limited personal information including full name, date of birth, place of residence, town or city of residence, and country. On the other hand, to fulfill professional objective, a social media user can adopt formal communication approach, which can involve providing detailed professional information. When using social media for professional use, the user can decide to reveal detailed professional information including name, place of residence, contact details, personal experience, educational background, and professional skills such as communication skills, organizational skills, digital skills, and job-related skills.

How digital identities converge in networked publics and the benefits

Digital identities converge in the networked publics by influencing identity verification and authentication (Jawed, Mahboob, & Yasmeen, 2019). This usually involves the establishment of digital or logical security with passwords or tokens, where trust, security, and identification are prioritized. Today, identity has evolved to comprise both digital and physical identities converging to help merge the use of applications and devices for personal and business purposes. The benefits associated with digital identity include enhanced security, high levels of accuracy, faster turnaround times, low operational costs.