I wonder how we teach young children this concept of digital identity. It occurs to me that I try to keep my students safe and we talk about this a lot. And that encourages the development of a separate identity for them, I think. They mask who they are in order to keep themselves and their identity safe. But I don’t think we have articulated this idea (or, I haven’t) with them.
It might be interested to have them consider how their “digital persona” comes across as different from whom they perceive themselves to be.
Kevin

Regarding your question - this is a very heavy question! I’ve been in the “digital world” for a long time now and I have talked about this with many, many people — most of whom did not understand the social nature of it way back in the beginning (remember Compuserve? my family thought I was going to be stalked and murdered by participating in online chats back then). I think now we have traipsed through many of the challenges we faced back in those days — ie., the difficulty of finding out who you are “really” talking to. Although it’s still possible to conceal yourself online (indeed, not only is it possible, but common), it’s not the standard “norm” any more. Back in the day, very few people I knew online were their “real” selves. In fact, the few that I met “in real life” were downright odd — for them, the internet was an escape, a getaway from who they really were.

But things are different now. The norm is, in many social networks online, is the same as it is in real life — that is, be who you are. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. And so, I think we can help our students consider the concept of digital identity the same way we help them consider the concept of THEIR own identity. As in, This Is Me.

When I first discovered the internet 14 years ago (yikes!), my online identity was as true to myself as it could have been at the time, except that I rarely used my real name. Is my online identity the same now? Heck, no! I’m 33, in a committed relationship, have a career, and pretty much know my direction in life — in 1994 I was 19, hanging out at university parties, a misguided lit major, and trying to “find myself” in all that mess! So of course — my overall identity has changed.

I have gone on and on here, but my point is this: I think our online identities (and our students’) should be real and reflective. And that, I think is probably best done with lots of personal guidance — maybe we should get counselors and parents involved? — and through, as you put it, self-exploration.

Whew! that was complicated! Btw - you mentioned that your blog is all over the place… perhaps, but if it is reflective of who you really are, then I think that is fine.

.. am I being too airy-fairy?