Personal Vs. Professional Social Media Identities—Do I need to live "separate lives"?

 Personal Vs. Professional Social Media Identity

Do you have to keep separate your personal and professional lives on social media? Why or why not?


For a long time, when thinking about social media, I believed that my personal and professional lives could not co-exist on the same social media site/platform. I thought this to be true because I followed what others told me to do rather than what I felt worked for me. Often times I heard professionals share that their personal and professional identities are not the same. I agree that there are some differences between how I am in my personal life compared to professional work settings. However, I pride myself on being authentic and genuine as I hope to reflect those qualities in my personal and professional lives—including in digital and social media spaces. I joined social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay updated with current trends that many of my peers and friends were experiencing, build community and network, and immerse myself in the positives and challenges of digital/social media. The positives include expanding my network and increasing my competence with technology. Through the positives, I also had to embrace the challenges of social media sites, such as the burden of constantly educating and training myself on new updates or the "next" big social media site and the overuse and dependence on social media in my daily life.

Kietzmann et al. (2011) discuss the evolving nature of social media sites stating, "there currently exists a rich and diverse ecology of social media sites, which vary in terms of their scope and functionality. Some sites are for the general masses, like Friendster, Hi5, and—of course—Facebook, which opened up only 4 years after Sixdegrees closed its doors. Other sites, like LinkedIn, are more focused on professional networks; in fact, Facebook started out as a niche private network for Harvard University students" (p.2). I chose this direct quote because it addresses social media sites' early mindset and framing and their design usage. The way that social media sites are viewed now, I believe, is shifting due to the impacts that social media sites have on our lives. People are taking and creating their own definitions of social media and what a personal and professional social media identity looks like to them. Through this class and learning more about Web 2.0, I think my practice of being comfortable merging my personal and professional identities will continue to make me a more authentic and genuine person as I engage in higher education and student affairs environments.  My Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become places where I share my personality and also where I share information about my journey as a doctoral student and leadership educator. Showcasing both my personal and professional social media identity. I do not believe in "living separate lives" between my personal and professional social media sites because I am the same person in both spaces. I can share more about myself and my interests, such as being a huge reality TV fan, Basketball enthusiast, and a lover of funny memes and GIFs while also maintaining my identity as a professional. I can share my accomplishments and even the challenges I face throughout my professional journey. It goes back to one central question I hope to challenge others to consider. What does professionalism mean, and who has defined this concept of what is professional and what is not? 

Reference:

Kietzmann, J. H., Hemkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business horizons, 54(3), 241- 251