Whats your Internet Identity

What's your Internet Identity Photo by jared on flickr.com We are able to control what other people see in our personal lives. If we have a bad day, we have the option to complain about it on Facebook or Twitter or to keep it to ourselves and not let anyone know. Vice Versa, if we have a fantastic day, we have the option to brag about it and let the whole world know. We create an identity and a personality with what we choose to share with the World Wide Web. What we choose to write, share, post, read, and buy  creates an image that we portray on the internet; however, the image we portray on the internet may not be the same as the image we portray in real life. On the internet we can create an image that is happy-go-lucky seemingly every day, but in reality we may not be so happy on a daily basis. The internet has allowed us to create this avatar of ourselves without us even realizing it. Most of us probably do not think about how a simple Facebook post will affect our internet identity, but reality is that everything we do on the internet does exactly that. The internet has become an alternate reality where we are able to portray ourselves in a different light and communicate with others through posts and pictures and what we all now call “Facebook stalking.” Through this alternate reality we are able to access information on a person based on their internet identity, but do we ever really know a person until we spend actual time with them? Today, we live in a world where we are constantly connected and our internet identity is seen as a direct reflection of who we are. But it is not a direct reflection. It is an image that has been carefully created for others to see, either consciously or not. Do we want others to think that we are constantly happy-go-lucky, or do we want others to know how we feel on a day to day basis? I guess that is up to us. We can use our internet identities both to our advantage and to our disadvantage. If we are careful enough we can create an internet identity that will attract future employers, but on the other hand, and this is something we all know, our internet identity can  turn away   future employers. current employers, and more.   Our internet identity is something we have absolute control over and we can choose whether we want to focus our image on friends or work.   Both have their advantages.   Both have their disadvantages. But which one do we create? As college students we are stuck between the two. We are placed in both a social and professional setting.   We want friends to be able to find and communicate with us through the internet, but we also want current and potential employers to do so.   We need to create an internet identity that works for both our friends and employers.   We can post our weekend events, but maybe leave out the incredibly drunk pictures.   We cannot complain about our bosses on Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of social media.   We can create an identity that reflects who we are both socially and professionally, but we have to recognize that we do control our image.