Digital identity is a characteristic that the internet has; it allows the users to create their own identities online, whether it’s true or fake. Affected by the wide use of the internet, web or social media becomes a platform for people, especially teenagers, to explore identities and interact with others.
According to Wängqvist and Frisén, “online contexts are important settings for adolescent identity development” , especially identity exploration. For most of us, knowing our identities is not a difficult thing; however, for the people who might be from a minority background or have identities which are not in the mainstream in society, it’s easy for them to feel lost or lack a sense of belongings. What examples that article mentioned were how people are able to explore their identities online by simply googling or interacting with others. For instance, when identity is visible in some social medias’ profile, people can easily make connections with others and have a sense of belonging when they find a group of people who share the same identity. LGBT people who might not be understood by family and peers are able to find the group which they belong with and encourage each other.
In addition, this “Global Village”, mentioned by Bozkurt and Tu, encourages people to interact with others regardless geographical distance, time zone, and even personality. This is the process of making interaction with others and learning from others; this interaction can also be a way to explore our own identity.
In my opinion, restricting children from using the internet definitely is not an effective way to protect kids. Instead of blocking all risk factors and letting children stay in their parents’ comfort zone forever, giving proper guidance and education while kids start to be curious about the internet could be a beneficial method to protect themselves. For instance, we need to let kids know the importance of privacy, which is not okay to expose too much personal information online and posting others photos without permission. At the same time, appropriate internet language should also be taught to them; we all have the freedom of speech, but we still need to be aware of the words we use whether we are anonymous or not. Cyberbullying is a serious issue that online technology has, so when we are discovering the possibilities for networked, just be respectful and sensitive to the words or perspective we use and have.
