Recently I was asked by @PatParslow to participate in a research survey on Digital Literacy at University. The overall task of which I believe is to assess how students use various technologies in various scenarios, and how that has shaped the way I work, and socialise. For example; the tools I use, how I go about using them, and the situations I use them for.

University work vs Personal use

What I'm doing influences how I use technology. For example, an email relating to university work is generally more formal and brief. It's often that the person on the other end is busy. So I try to adjust the wording to be polite and concise. This is in the hope that it makes it easier for the receiver to read and process without distracting them entirely. Hopefully this is more memorable and can lead to a prompt reply if needed.

The idea of email being marked urgent for quick response in my mind is silly. If it's something important enough, and you don't phone them why not? You're far more likely to have a reply quicker than my infrequent email times, which I normally save for the evenings, or times that I'm being unproductive. It's also very difficult to forget to reply to someone on the phone.

I find that I almost rely on technology too much for entertainment and communications. So when I'm on holiday I cut this down and avoid using it for anything similar to work. This is where the iPad comes in handy. I'm much more likely to socialise or read articles for pleasure as opposed to something academic whilst on holiday. However, when the time comes to focus on work again the switch is instantaneous. It's an especially useful device when it comes to researching and browsing through the web. By syncing to iCloud it allows me to save articles to read later, as well as through dropbox to save documents.

Public Image

The more content that you create through identifiable means, the more someone can learn about you. Be it that they're a friend, stranger, or potential employer, they can see anything that's public. If you've intentionally put content out there and linked yourself to other mediums across the internet it is possible for them to see any public content on that too. Considering this I find myself censoring what I say. Would I want it to be quoted as a reflection of my character or not? If the answer to this is no, then I consider why I want to publish it, often finding it to be completely pointless, which I believe also helps with some self-reflection.

With the increasing popularity of social media as a means of communication many people now have Facebook or Twitter. But not all consider the effect this has on employability. Given the subject area that I study it is highly likely that things that I say and do online are at some point going to be looked at by a potential employer. By increasing this sense of  being watched I find that I think a little more before I tweet. But not too much. I want at least some of my personality to be reflected through what I say. I feel that if I restrict what I say too much there is little point in remaining public on Twitter, which I have done through choice.



What about you? Do you think before you tweet? Are you concerned at the permanent nature of things you say and how they can effect your portrayal in the future?