The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg, once said “having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity” (2010), adding that he imagined it wouldn’t be long until the idea of having a “different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know” would cease to exist.
In spite of this, Liz Gannes argues that the internet provides “plenty of outlets for self-expression” (2011), meaning that the idea of having a single online identity becomes redundant once you use multiple social networks. Tumblr, for example, allows for more self-expression and Twitter can be used as a tool to share your experiences in a wider, more open way than Facebook. Because of this, users are playing the strengths of each social network to their advantage, often resulting in this concept of having more than one online identity.
Is having more than one identity when using the internet a good idea though? Ashley Brown, a PR consultant, admits that whilst she initially maintained both a professional and personal identity when using Twitter, she soon realised the benefit of giving her clients a glimpse into her life outside of work, in a “strategy to appear well-balanced” (2011). She believes that one of the repercussions of having multiple online personalities is that it will affect your life outside of the online world; once you start assigning different aspects of your life to different audiences, “it makes it extremely difficult to be a complete person offline”.
However, Costa and Torres argue that “digital identity is a serious matter in this day and age” (2011) and is a concept that centres on the idea of presentation and reputation. The way we act and behave is socially and culturally judged, meaning that we must consider the manner in which we manage our online identity as it can impact both our online and offline lives. The website LifeHacker.com lists a number of reasons why it’s good to keep your identities separate; it provides a layer of privacy, you have control over your professional appearance and means that you can keep your professional contacts from seeing “irrelevant details of your personal life” and vice versa (2012).
On a personal note, I think it is definitely important that we have multiple online identities. Whilst my personal Facebook account has high privacy settings, I have ensured that there is a “public” version of it, which whilst somewhat restricted, I believe is beneficial as prospective employers are able to see that I do have a social presence on the network given that Facebook is a vital tool in the line of work I wish to go into.
Casserly, Meghan. 2011. “Multiple Personalities And Social Media: The Many Faces of Me”. Available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/01/26/multiple-personalities-and-social-media-the-many-faces-of-me/ [Accessed 23/10/2014]
Costa, Cristina and Torres, Ricardo. 2011. “To be or not to be? The importance of digital identity in the networked society” by Cristina Costa and Ricardo Torres. Available at: http://eft.educom.pt/index.php/eft/article/view/216/126 [Accessed 23/10/2014]
Cutler, Kim-Mai. 2010. “Why Mark Zuckerberg needs to come clean about his views on privacy”. Available at: http://venturebeat.com/2010/05/13/zuckerberg-privacy/ [Accessed 23/10/2014]
Gannes, Liz. 2011. “The Social Web’s Big New Theme for 2011: Multiple Identities for Everyone!” Available at: http://allthingsd.com/20110101/the-social-webs-big-new-theme-for-2011-multiple-identities-for-everyone/ [Accessed 23/10/2014]
Henry, Alan. 2012. “Should I Keep My Personal and Professional Identities Completely Separate Online?” http://lifehacker.com/5898370/should-i-keep-my-personal-and-professional-identities-completely-separate-online [Accessed 23/10/2014]
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sophiecollins. 
Interesting blog post! I like how you clearly discuss the arguments for and against having multiple online identities. Contrary to your opinion, shared in your conclusion; I believe all of our online presence should be professional.
By privatising an account, you reduce the risk of someone accessing your ‘personal’ information, however can this be insured? Aided by the application TimeHop, I searched my twitter feed; reading old tweets. It’s scary to think that potential employers have access to this, unlike Justin Sacco (see my blog for more information) I have not posted anything controversial, but I have posted things that I may not wish to share with a potential employer. We are lucky enough to study a module allowing us to investigate our digital footprints, but how can we ensure that others are aware of theirs? How can we ensure we’re not effected by our previous naiveties towards the World Wide Web?
Anna
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Hi Anna,
Thank you for your comment and I enjoyed reading your blog post on the topic, but I can’t say I agree.
Whilst I never post anything controversial on my Facebook, I do always make sure that anything I upload is only open to a certain number of my friends. When I started university a few years ago, I found that Facebook was an invaluable tool to make sure I didn’t miss out on any of the social aspects of university and was a great way to make friends, especially when we could share embarrassing photos from the night before! I think the clue is in the name, social networks are the new way to socialise and therefore I believe there’s no reason why our personal — and private — accounts shouldn’t show our personal side.
Sophie
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Hi Sopie,
I am actually really glad you disagree with me, it makes me question my opinions and think further into the arguments presented for and against. I do agree in some aspects with you, i have my own personal facebook. However, the problem is where is the line. There is sharing silly photos and theres having contact numbers, adresses and personal information displayed on these pages. The biggest thing i have learnt from University is that everyone adds you, not necessarily those you would count as friends. For example if you take up any roles within SUSU as a voluntary officer you get facebook friend adds from people you may not of even met, you just know their name. I therefore try to keep my facebook relatively professional. I share some personal things, like photos and the odd status about my life. But i know what i post is seen by people who i would not necessarily say i have a friendship with.
However, if i kept this page just for friends, and family i may use it differently. I therefore completely understand, and respect the way you use social media, for its social aspects. I have really enjoyed reading and discussing the different ways we use social media. It shows us just how versatile it is!
Thank you for your reply!
Anna
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Hi Sophie,
I have to apologize here – I had commented on this post earlier on the week, but forgot to press Post Comment – So please don’t feel you have to respond! (sorry for this silly mistake!)
Anyway, as I originally intended to post…:
I really enjoyed this blog post and was particularly interested in the case study with the PR Consultant who gave her clients to have more of an insight into her offline life via Twitter, to appear more authentic. I mentioned a similar idea in my own blog post about large companies, celebrities and brands constructing single, transparent identities which show a much more human side to themselves, making themselves therefore more appealing.
However, I was also interested to see that you yourself took a similar position to me on the fact that multiple identities are needed (with reference to Lifehacker) in today’s society. Lifehacker suggests that a negative of having multiple online identities is that fact that your audience is split – by separating your personal and professional lives, you are ‘excluding valuable people who can help you because they’re friends or family’. This supposed benefit is something which I disagree with personally but would be interested to see if you felt the same?
I liked your personal conclusion to your post and it has made me think about the benefits of having a public (although highly private) version of my Facebook. On further research, I read that 37% of employers use social networks, so it is now really essential that we have a presence on social media. Moreover, I feel that it is essential for employers to get an idea of the person and the personality behind the CV and cover letter, which is why Facebook and Twitter – with their capability to express our behaviours and likes/dislikes, opinions and interests are invaluable. Was this perhaps also behind your motivations for setting up a highly private public version of your Facebook?
Lucy
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