Olivia Korbus

January 22, 2026

Social media has turned everyday moments and mistakes into lasting markers of our digital identity. Social media takes a mistaken stab at addressing our intentions and often lacks context for the moments of our lives that are constantly on display. Though the modern world requires an online presence as a form of authentication. As we are taught further how an appropriate way to behave online we too are taught how to act intentionally to be seen by those who matter. The online world doesn’t just end with connections built with our families overseas or our friends from school; as we get older and the world of social networking weaves thicker into our modern world the lines between professionalism and personability will meld together in a sea of mesmerizing, interconnected labyrinth of digital identity. The navigation between knowing one’s self and creating one’s self becomes increasingly challenging as we navigate this techno-sphere of blurred boundaries and shifting expectations we call the 21st century. There is a constant uncertainty of what should be shared, who is watching, or how our words and actions might follow us. Networking no longer happens only in professional settings creeps into every interaction, every post, and every trace we leave behind, slowly molding the character we have presented ourselves as.  However we humans are meant to evolve, and anticipating the possible danger while remaining positive about potential opportunities from these encounters is innately human as well.  The public network space offers connection, opportunity, and a place to be seen. Even as we expose ourselves to judgment, misinterpretation, and the pressure to maintain a carefully managed digital self, vulnerability is the only bath to true connection and being open to these risks is a requirement to being a part of the current world in many ways. In a world where personal and professional identities collide, the greatest challenge of them all is deciding what it truly means to belong in a space where everything is both permanent and up for debate.

Living in a public network forces us to reconsider what the concept of “sharing” digitally means, and asks us who we imagine our audience to be.  We have such varying expectations of what is appropriate to share, what is expected to be shared and with who we are supposed to share it with is also up for frequent debate. Unfortunately like many things in life the boundaries are blurred and the consequences may not always be known to us in the moment their negativity is impacting our lives. This sounds all dreary but it’s really just a hyper analytic view of our public persona whether it’s online or not. The addition of having the media be a space where others can document our success and shortcomings equally is the major difference. We are ultra social primates as humans so the wrath and satisfaction we feel based on analyzing others lives is nearly a given. We are constantly “networking” whether we intend to or not. The question posed, “what does it mean to network using social media” is interesting because we have such a strong association with networking as a workplace term and there is such a great focus on “employers” seeing our digital identities but I’d argue the influence begins way before the employer is even known to us. It begins with how we are able to generate a network with those who may know someone in the realm of what you’re talking about, it involves whether we are able to present ourselves in a light that interests others who are able to help us stay informed of other volunteer opportunities which can teach us the skills we need to be used in a future job which we can leverage throughout our life. 

As humans we like to think we take our privacy seriously; but we never ask ourselves why? Once we are able to acknowledge how public our lives have in actuality become, we can finally free ourselves to release the tension and anxiety we feel surrounding this fragile sense of privacy we so desperately cling to. We have shame for things we truly believe in or enjoy like embarrassing music or staying friends with our mothers online and why? Do we judge others by the same standards? Maybe so and maybe not but at any rate we act like with each potentially wrong maneuver we are at risk of being ixnayed from the conversation like we will not be worthy of friendship, attention, or opportunity because we are judged on some nonexistent scale of social worth. We panic as we ponder the potential consequences that are not guaranteed as we read through the unending fame of those who have been “cancelled”. The call to being exposed of our shortcomings may feel important and as an online citizen it may feel important to stay in the loop of who’s done what and how others feel about it because if we don’t participate, or agree we may not seem as worthy to be part of the sphere like others who stayed informed. While keeping up with this influx of information and needing to remain a well informed citizen we are also expected to be rational readers of social media, hunters of the true facts and gatherers of evidence and I wonder if all this information which is bombarding our lives and our spirits is impacting us more than we realize. At the root cause while we may be engaging as a form of self preservation we are mentally enduring self harm. Allowing our emotions to run rampant as we recognize how easily someone could find all that we are not proud of online and use it against us. How out of context we may be taken in a comment we made, or even a post we liked that someone may have noticed that we hoped wouldn’t have noticed. Ultimately we are all these social creatures who are meant to grow, play, engage in meaningful conversations and silly things to and while I agree a level of accountability is necessary for prosperous species and a civilized society it’s also critical to give grace and take a step back to reflect on our own reactions and emotions in response to each other’s digital identities because in order to have an authentic online community we need to share the sentiment of grace and empathy and learn the skill of reading between the lines and applying context to conclusions for both ourselves and others; without this sentiment and application how are we supposed to actually express our thoughts and get to know one another. 

In the professional world versus the personal the tension we feel becomes even more complicated and layered when our personal identity collides with our professional expectation.  There is always the risk of the two merging which in the modern world can be either the goal or a grave mistake. When we analyze something like LinkedIn we are taught to appear respectful, conscientious, and motivated. We are expected to act this way and encouraged to be interesting enough on this platform to have someone take their analysis of your digital identity to a more personal level and leverage them into scrolling through your presumably public Instagram account or whichever. There is sort of this scouting design where we present ourselves in a mannerism that aligns with who we are attracting and who we’d like to come off as the right for but this is rarely a true reflection of who we are in our personal lives, Ironic isn’t it. If the idea behind professional networking is to find someone most compatible with what is expected in a job, why do we rely so heavily on this formulaic approach to learning more about someone who is just coloring in the lines with appropriate posted values, agreeable language, and a clean and presentable look. 

Ultimately, we need to accept that in navigating our digital identities we need to think less about perfection and more about accepting that our self presentation may not always match the ideals but what is necessary is understanding  the lifelong journey of social media navigation and recognizing that how we present ourselves in the moments we have control over is all you can do. We as digital citizens are always running the risk of muddying waters, social media is messy most of the time and explicitly clear nearly never. But it’s how we face these challenges that make us who we are online and offline. We must take a balanced approach with the media as a consumer and a producer. We are all taking part in the balancing act between privacy, professionalism and participation. However belonging has always required vulnerability because to fit in is to be known in the first palace and I encourage us all to rethink and analyze what is means to be a digital citizen but also what it means to be a human in the world, either way our existence leaves a trace, and hey at least that means we were remembered for something.