Being ‘on’ all the time because of our ‘digital ID’ is tiring
Photo via UD Dialogue Zone Instagram
Mary Lustig | Contributing Writer
Social media has become a staple of people’s everyday lives, and while the psychological effects have been studied, there is more to uncover about how it has affected individuals, specifically Generation Z, through an intrapersonal perspective.
Dr. Susan Davies, chair of the Department of Counselor Education and a professor of School Psychology at the University of Dayton, reinforces the importance that “digital identity isn’t just about what we post; it’s about the psychological weight of feeling like you have to be ‘on’ all the time. Opening up these conversations helps students strip away the filters and realize that their worth isn’t tied to an algorithm or a notification count.”
Students at UD understood that this was a subject that needed to be discussed. A team of 11 seniors are working to create a documentary in a year-long class led by Professor Greg Kennedy about digital identity, and on March 30, they collaborated with the Dialogue Zone to spark a conversation about dangers and pressures online.
Students were invited to the Dialogue Zone to share their thoughts and experiences involving social media. There were 11 participants at the Dialogue Zone, including three members of the documentary team and two discussion leaders, Haley Reid and Khaliah Gorham.
“This conversation about digital identity and social media is especially important at UD because social media can start to feel like our whole world before real-life interactions even happen,” Gorham said.
At the start of the conversation, Reid invited participants to remove any distractions and used questions such as, “How do you decide what parts of yourself to share online and what to keep private?” For the entirety of the event, about 75 minutes, students shared their perceptions of what social media means to them and their thoughts about digital identity. Each member of the group acknowledged that their social media pages only scratched the surface of who they truly are.
Taylor Powell, a member of the documentary and participant of the Dialogue Zone, reflected on the impact the dialogue session had on her, “The discussion made me feel seen and that I’m not alone in the way that social media makes me feel internally. It also made me reflect on my own digital habits and how I contribute to that digital culture.”
“While our goal was not to solve the complex challenges associated with digital identity today, I do believe attendees left with a deeper appreciation for one another’s perspectives,” Reid said.
When reflecting on social media’s presence in students’ lives, Reid noted, “Most students have grown up in the digital age, meaning their identities are not only shaped in physical spaces, but also online.” The documentary team invited their peers to discuss these identities and learn how to develop them to represent individuals’ most authentic selves.
The film production team plans to premiere their 15-minute documentary at the end of the spring semester in hopes of raising awareness about what digital identity is and the effects it has on people. As Gorham put it, social media is just one piece of who people are, not the whole picture.
“Rewired: Identity in the Age of Mass Distraction,” a student-produced documentary, will be presented Sunday, May 3, in the Concert Hall at the Roger Glass Center for the Arts. Doors open at 2 p.m., with the showing at 2:30 p.m. A Q&A will follow.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an update to a previously published article on Flyer News.