In 1998, a person’s E-mail address was the most well known component of their digital identity (Ableson & Lessing, 1998). Almost 20 years later, an E-mail address is only a small part of the myriad dimensions of a digital identity.
College students of the 21st century are exploring their identity through social media housed within the realm of cyberspace, a limitless portal that allows humans to freely interact with one another through networked computer systems, and providing citizens of the world with a means to connect, learn and self-identify.
Social media can help people develop as individuals as they gain knowledge, upload information and consume products, services and an unlimited connection to others.
Chickering & Reisser (1993) and Renn & Reason (2013) said that student development programs and services are a key factor contributing to student development along the seven vectors. It is very important that programming methods shift with this change in student culture and behavior. As educators, this results in a need to help students think critically about what they post online.
Chickering and Reisser (1993) gave us seven vectors that identify how college students develop their in-person identity, which changes “the manner in which we engage, share, promote, and present ourselves online … [it has] become a major facet in many of our lives. No longer seen as being separate from ‘real life,’ an individual’s digital identity is intricately connected to their overall identity” (Stoller, 2012)
DOWNLOAD my digitally re-imagined concept of the 7 Virtual Vectors
Ableson, H., & Lessig, L. (1988, December 10). Digital Identity in Cyberspace: White paper submitted for 6.805/law of cyberspace: Social protocols. Retrieved from http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall98-papers/identity/linked-white-paper.html
Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Renn, K. A., & Reason, R. D. (2013). College students in the United States: Characteristics, experiences and outcomes (p. 147). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stoller, E. (2012, September 12). Digital Identity Development. In Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology/digital-identity-development
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