How I See Digital Identities Now

This picture, created by ChatGPT, reflects how my understanding of digital identity has changed throughout this class. At the beginning of the semester, I didn’t put much thought towards how I appeared online or how I was perceived. I initially thought my digital identity was just an amalgamation of whatever photos and accounts existed of me across the internet. But now, I understand it as something much more expressive and intentional, almost like a living branch of myself.

This picture depicts that shift in attitude. The calm expression on my digital character represents the feeling of control I gained by creating my own personal website and taking ownership over how I present myself online. The digital profile on the laptop symbolizes the more curated parts of my identity, while the floating icons in the background like the music notes, art palette, and brain symbol, represent the creative aspects of myself. 

I learned that digital identity isn’t just about the pre-existing pieces online. It’s also about what I choose to make public and how I choose to reveal it. Creating my personal theme song, generating art, and experimenting with AI tools helped me understand that I can bring my story into the digital world in ways I never thought of before.