Identity is an interesting concept when it comes to who a person identifies themselves as in person and who they identify as online. While the internet has drastically changed the way one develops their identity, I still believe that a person can have multiple identities in person as well. For example, an adolescent may act professionally while they are in school or are having a conversation with their teacher. A teen may then act irrationally around their friends as a result of peer pressure, and put on a face that they may not necessarily believe in. When the adolescent goes home, they may act innocently around their parents, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, refuse to identify with their parents beliefs. All these situations listed have to do with identity, and it is especially an issue we see with adolescents. This is often deemed the identity crisis, i.e. “an adolescent’s response to the tension between the need to explore what is unique about oneself and the wish to become someone who will get the respect and validation from family, friends and community” (McMahan & Thomas, 2015). Adolescents begin to explore different perspectives, develop their own beliefs, and make more autonomous decisions for themselves about the lifestyle they choose to live.

 

This week we were asked to watch the video “Generation Like”. The video explores teen identity exploration and how the web interferes with their development. Marketers have a strong influence on teen identity by setting the perfect image from the clothing they should wear, to the food they should be eating. Recently it has been apparent if a teen doesn’t get enough “likes” on facebook or Instagram, it could drastically effect their self-esteem. I recently read an article which I do not remember the name of, but the point of the article was that a teen’s parent spent thousands of dollars on counselling their child because of cyber-bullying. However the last line read something like “it costs zero dollars to delete the app”. Although victims still suffer bullying at school, today the bullying follows them home with social media usage. While it is inevitably impossible to ask our students to delete their social media profile, the author of the article does make a valid point. Social media is influencing our kids’ behaviour and identity which often leads to more negative outcomes over positive ones.

 

In order to help my students go beyond a “Like” or branding influence of social media, I have gathered some resources on developing a meaningful identity. These resources promote individualism, will ignite new interests, and will get them questioning what characteristics define them. The first webpage I came across focuses on Identity Development with multiple topics such as key theories, identity development and school adjustment, variables such as process, gender, and ethnicity, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to support identity development. Some suggestions are creating vocational projects to determine specific career paths, and encouraging students to compete against themselves rather than comparing themselves to others. The tutorial on Sense of Self/Personal Identity first defines what sense of self is, explaining that a person has multiple roles in life such as a teacher, a friend, sister, athlete, etc. It talks about how it develops and what influences this development. The last portion of the tutorial provides how we can intervene to help students overcome self-esteem issues. Some suggestions are acceptance, meaningful tasks, be a positive role model, honest feedback focused on appreciation, interest and respect, and teaching how to cope with defeats. The article “Online Identity: is authenticity or anonymity more important?” is an interesting read on the perspectives of linking online vs. offline personas. There are a number of other articles I found such as “The Online Identity Crisis” and “Google wants to own your online identity” which cover similar themes related to on and offline identity. Lastly, I found a lesson plan where students have to create a self-portrait that incorporates the many facets that make up their identity, using symbols and/or objects. The student would be free to use any medium to display their portrait. I think this lesson could be covered under many different subject areas!