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Temelyan, Edgar
Jennifer Rodrick
English 115
September 21, 2016
Project Web
Do we shape our own identities or does technology do it for us? Technology has
advanced so rapidly in the past ten years that we have begun to rely on it on a daily basis. If you
left your phone at home, would you leave it for the night, or would you go back for it? I know I
would turn back immediately because I rely on my phone for when I am lost, when I am trying to
avoid people at a party, and most importantly, so I can stay connected to my social media pages
throughout the night. There will always be the few that will say that technology is negatively
shaping our society and the majority is the older generation of family members, such as our
grandparents, great aunts, and uncles. While I understand why people may argue that children
stare at their phones for the majority of the day instead of playing outside, the amount of positive
factors that technology has to offer overcomes the negative. Technology has had a positive
impact on shaping identities, online and the affect in the real world by allowing social
connections for family communication, digital identities for career enhancement, and social
identity for our own freedom to shape how others view us.
Technology has affected our lives in the real world by helping us stay connected with
parents, friends, and family. The transition from high school to college is never easy for any
student because they are going into a world in which they are unfamiliar with. This process is
especially difficult for the students that must dorm away from home because they are away from
family for the first time. There are students that are not on the same maturity level, or at the

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psychological level to multitask with college classes and get a stable job to support their own
weight. Where must a student turn to when they are in need of money? Of course, their parents is
the answer because whom else has a child relied on their whole live? This is where the use of cell
phones takes place. A study that took place in Montana State University by Betsy Palmer, Susan
Boniek, Elena Turner, and Elyse Dnn Lovell stated, Our results showed that cell phone was a
prevalent tool for family communication and revealed parental financial contribution as an
unexpected reason for family connection(293). The majority of the students that were
interviewed in the study concluded, phone calls are the main source of communication with
family. Some used email in order to send images, due to the parents not having any other way to
receive photos. The study also stated that the use of text messaging and emails were a major
factor for undergraduates use of technology because the students would use texting for contact
with each other on campus and email for contact with their teachers, business, and the university.
Denise, a student that participated in the interview stated my...[school] email gets full really
fast, so I check that one pretty often. But my regular email not so much. Im used to texting. Its
much faster(288). Denise also uses social media, such as Facebook and Myspace, to stay in
contact with her cousins and friends from high school. This concludes that with the use of
technology, students build a finer connection with parents, friends and family, regardless if they
are dorming at a great distance from home.
Technology began shaping identities online when the first social media website was
released to the public through the Internet. The question that should be asked to undergraduates
today is, Would you feel comfortable stepping into a job interview and submitting your
Facebook or Instagram page on your resume? If not, then why do you present yourself on your
social media page in a way that you would not feel confident enough to submit it to the job of

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your dreams? The concept that students dont understand is that the digital identity that we build
on the Internet is available for anybody to view, even to the person that holds the decision of
giving you the job that you dream for. Social media pages are now being viewed before the
acceptance of a job application. Many dont see the use of creating a well-presented digital
identity, which is why the University of Texas at El Paso conducted a study with forty-four
students that lasted through a year of research. The research included students that were all
involved in early education, near half were elementary teachers and the rest were pre-teachers.
Once the digital identities were created in a professional matter and the study had completed, the
teachers and the students that were all involved in the study had new opportunities ahead of them
and the teachers were able to enhance in their careers, as well as advanced their skills in
technology knowledge. The parents were requesting for their children to be placed in the
classroom of the teacher that had a technology based class so that their child can have a rich
education with new teaching methods. This was also a benefit to the teacher because they had
advanced in their career. As for the fourteen students that were pre-teachers, the article by Ainsa,
Trisha states, Fourteen of the students who were pre-teachers were offered employment in a
tight job market. The pre-teachers stated that the digital identity definitely helped them get
employed and gave them an edge in the interviews and paper work submissions(51). This goes
to show that with the correct resume, digital identity and education, advancing in a career and
finding a job is always easier.
Social media is one of the major topics of discussion in todays society, which is why our
shaped identities online are considered before we are accepted into a job. Social media is used
the portrayal of an image that you want the world to see you as. For students that are entering the
college environment, identity exploration is what takes place in the first couple years. According

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to an article, written by the Faculty of Health Sciences, from The University of Sydney, Sydney,
Australia, Alcohol is a key component of identity exploration for many young people, yet few
studies have investigated identity construction in relation to problematic drinking(1). This quote
states that by using alcohol for identity exploration there have been cases that have led to
drinking problems in the students future. The study that took place in the University of Sydney
concluded that the alcohol-identity is portrayed for popularity in social media website such as
Facebook. According to the article, participants utilized a variety of photographic and textual
material to present alcohol as a component of their identity on Facebook, with over half having
selected an alcohol-related profile image(1). This quote states, in order to make their social
media pages popular, the students profile images were all associated with alcohol. Students do
not understand that when they portray images like this on their social media pages, it has an
affect on their digital identities. For a job interviewer that has never associated with these
students, to see what they are presenting on their social media, the first thought that comes to
mind would be that the student is a regular drinker. In conclusion, due to the freedom we are
given to shape how others view us, students use alcohol to increase their personal image on
social media, for social popularity.

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Many say that technology is negatively affecting the youth by not allowing physical
contact between individuals. Others say that we should be worried about our privacy, how our
children are not getting enough physical contact with other another, and most importantly, cyber
bullying within schools. These are all major issues that should be considered, but the fact is that
they can all be prevented. Schools can easily make a difference if they were to constantly
regulate their students social media pages or simply inform the students of the consequences to
their actions. These issues are the sacrifices that we made in order to benefit from the technology
we have today. Even though I agree with these points, I believe that there are many more
advantages with having social media and technology than disadvantages. Considering the
positive impact, information that would take us months or years to receive is sent to us in matter
of seconds. For families that live in different countries, technology allows us to keep in touch
with one another from our own homes, which was practically impossible only a few years ago.
In conclusion, technology has affected our lives in a positive impact by helping us stay
connected with the world, allowing us to build digital identities and by giving us the freedom to
shape our own social image. Without our current technology, many would still lose their lives to
the common cold. Technology allowed us to travel by aircraft, by vehicles, by train etc. Can you
imagine a world without your everyday essentials? The closest thing to it would be the time
period of our founding fathers.

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Work Cited Page
AINSA, TRISHA. "College Students' Digital Identity: Perceptions Towards Employment
And Career." College Student Journal 50.1 (2016): 47-52. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Palmer, Betsy, et al. "Undergraduates, Technology, And Social Connections." College
Student Journal 48.2 (2014): 281-296. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
RIDOUT, BRAD, ANDREW CAMPBELL, and LOUISE ELLIS. "'Off Your Face(Book)':
Alcohol In Online Social Identity Construction And Its Relation To Problem Drinking In
University Students." Drug & Alcohol Review 31.1 (2012): 20-26. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.