The apparent lack of privacy in our brave new online world can be extremely unsettling at times. Though social media smothers our world, I’ve made attempts to limit myself to certain (though perhaps not the most private) platforms of social media. I’ve often fantasized about running away to live “off the grid” in a secluded forest somewhere, but the need for human companionship, convenience, and a desire to participate in the world have largely outweighed the daunting prospect of having information about myself available to anyone at anytime. I would like to live under the radar of the world wide web, but I also want to live in this world. It’s a conundrum I’ve thought about a lot, and to which at this point in my life I have no solution.
I know that in this age, in the field I plan to work in, I need some sort of online presence, at the very least in the form of an online portfolio and resumé. Potential clients, employers, and institutions of higher education need to be able to see my work and know a little about myself, but how much of myself do I keep private, and how do I go about keeping myself private? Perhaps a partial solution to these questions may be to maintain an air of mystery about myself in my online presence, at least as far as social media goes. This is something that I have done a bit naturally, but I may experiment with taking it further in the future. I could invent a character to play on social media while keeping my professional presence…well…professional.