What is a digital identity?

A digital identity is an agglomeration of information/data that is gathered online and, once analyzed, is supposed to provide an accurate representation of an individuals’ online presence. An individuals’ digital identity is composed of two separate components: authenticators and credentials (Seymour-Provencher, 2022). Credentials are defined as a set of attributes (i.e. name or birthdate) that are bound to an identifier (i.e. account number), whereas authenticators are something that can be used to provide proof you are who you say you are (i.e. usernames and passwords) (2022).

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

It’s no surprise that an individuals’ social media usage is heavily dependant on the way in which they approach their digital identity. With a personal approach to digital identity, an individual might be more inclined to share the same information they would with their friends. In this approach, social media usage generally consists of communicating with friends, sharing texts or images they find to have value, and other leisurely activities. On the other hand, an individual with a professional approach to digital identity will be more inclined to maintain a competent and composed appearance throughout their social media usage. Due to this, they’d generally be more aware of the content that they like, share, and post, as well as the accounts that they create, because of potential consequences that can negatively affect their brands or businesses.

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and benefits?

Every individual who participates in networked publics will have some form of digital identity – whether it’s through a personal or professional approach. One significant impact of this convergence is the concerns it raises towards principals and ethics. As the use of social media continues to increase, or any form of technology for that matter, so will the precision in analyzing the data that an individual releases in the network; the more data that an individual shares will lead to a fuller picture of who that individual, or even business, is. This becomes a concern as it then becomes possible for the exploitations of user data. With that being said, there are also numerous benefits that come with the convergence of digital identities in networked publics – the obvious one being instant identity verification. This would allow for timely access to health records, bank accounts, and just about any other situation where you’d need to prove you are who you say you are.

Can a digital wallet provide trust in networked publics?

I do think that digital wallets have the capability of providing trust within networked publics as it can serve as a tool of accountability. With that being said, it’s important to note that both policymakers and the general public should be constantly improving laws surrounding digital identity in order to protect privacy and prevent exploitations of user data.

Seymour-Provencher, H. (2022, August 15). Learning series – what is a digital identity? Digital Identity Laboratory of Canada. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.idlab.org/en/learning-series-what-is-a-digital-identity-2/