&
intheageof
@paulgordonbrown
Development
Engagement

So who is this guy?
@paulgordonbrown

Research
Impact of social and digital
technology on college student’s
concepts of self.
Presentations
- Be. Act. Do. Digital Leadership.
- Digital Social Justice
- What Every Digital #SApro
Should Do
- Engaging With Students Online
and With Social Media
@paulgordonbrown

(Turkle, 2004, para 6)
“I want to study
not only what the
computer is doing
for us, but what it
is doing to us.”
- Turkle

@paulgordonbrown
www.paulgordonbrown.com
paulgordonbrown@gmail.com

#UDsocial
This session is Twitter-friendly.
@paulgordonbrown

1. Understand how college student leaders view their
online life and the role social media plays in it.
2. Describe how development looks the same and/or
different when college students are living their
lives immersed in digital worlds.
3. Identify opportunities and potentials for students to
take a lead in defining who they want to be and
what they want to do on line.
4. Recall the important concepts necessary to
purposefully engage with students online.
5. Identify specific means for online student
engagement.

Just because you use social media…
doesn’t mean you know
how to use it
well.

(Turkle, 2004, para 6)
“I want to study
not only what the
computer is doing
for us, but what it
is doing to us.”
- Turkle

@paulgordonbrown

@paulgordonbrown

@paulgordonbrown

@paulgordonbrown

anything in
EXCESS
is likely bad.
@paulgordonbrown

youth-normative
vs
adult-normative
perspectives
-Reynol Junco
@paulgordonbrown

NORMATIVE
adult
(Junco 2014)

youth
NORMATIVE (Junco 2014)

social media is a
TOOL
@paulgordonbrown

@paulgordonbrown

Pick your platforms
Twitter: I’m eating a #donut.
Facebook: I like donuts.
Foursquare: This is where I eat donuts.
Instagram: Here’s a vintage photo of my donut.
YouTube: Here I am eating a donut.
LinkedIn: My skills include donut eating.
Pintrest: Here’s a donut recipe.
Spotify: Now listening to “Donuts.”
Google+: I’m a Google employee who eats donuts.

social media
is also a
CONTEXT
@paulgordonbrown

Social media is increasingly
understood
as a part of the
developmental
process.

DIGITAL
IDENTITY
?
@paulgordonbrown

confusion
there’s a lot of
with this word…
@paulgordonbrown

“Many student affairs
professionals use the term
digital identity
development to refer to
online professional self-
presentation; however, it
is important to tease apart
the differences between
using social media as part
of the exploration and
development of identity
and using social media to
present oneself in a
certain way.”
(Junco, 2014, p. 257) @paulgordonbrown

“Labeling the latter digital
identity development
confounds a developmental
process with a professional
communication strategy.
Furthermore, labeling online
professional self-presentation
digital identity development
may keep the field of student
affairs from more critically
and deeply examining how
the emerging adult identity
development process is
affected by online
interactions.”
(Junco, 2014, p. 257)

Digital Identity
Digitized Development
@paulgordonbrown

Digital Identity
@paulgordonbrown
is often

Psychological
Process
conflated with a
@paulgordonbrown

DigitalIdentity/
Reputation vs
Digitized
Development
What We Produce vs What We Are
What Other People See vs How We See Ourselves
Can Be Taught
Through Rules
vs
Must Be Learned
Dynamically
A By-Product Of
Development
vs
The Developmental
Process Itself

DigitalIdentity/
Reputation
Digitized
Development
ReciprocalRelationship

pause

digital identity.
reputation.
presentation.

Self Presentation
Some use it to refer to

digital stamp

digital footprints
+ digital shadow
+ digital trail
digital stamp

digital footprints

digital shadow
https://flic.kr/p/mhf2SN

digital trail

digital footprints
+ digital shadow
+ digital trail
digital stamp

FROM THE WOMB!
We even have digital stamps

Mesut reflecting on what he was taught about
social media growing up:
“I feel like in high school I was always told…
“Be careful what you put on your Facebook.
Be careful what you put on your Twitter. Blah
blah blah. You know people might see it…
I had never took that seriously. I thought no
one’s gonna look at my Facebook page, you
know what I mean? Stuff like that. But it’s
crazy how serious that is—just being
conscious about the content you put on social
media platforms.”

We need to educate
students on digital
reputation.

digitized development.

Marcia
Baxter
Magolda’s
Theory of
Self-Authorship

What is Self-Authorship?
A particular and relatively enduring way of
understanding and orienting oneself to
provocative situations in a way that:
1) Recognizes the contextual nature of
knowledge; and
2) Balances and guides this understanding
with the development of internally defined
goals and sense of self

Student
exploration of
social media.
Does not
understand how
online and offline
interactions can
impact each other.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Absolute
Knowing
2nd
Order
digitizedstudentdevelopment

Student
exploration of
social media.
Does not
understand how
online and offline
interactions can
impact each other.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Student
commitment to
social media.
Develops usage
patterns and
begins to learn
online cultures
and etiquette.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Absolute
Knowing
Transitional
Knowing
2nd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
digitizedstudentdevelopment

Student
exploration of
social media.
Does not
understand how
online and offline
interactions can
impact each other.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Student
commitment to
social media.
Develops usage
patterns and
begins to learn
online cultures
and etiquette.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Absolute
Knowing
Student develops
an independent
identity online
Begins to make
choices about
one’s own
representation.
Exploration is on
student’s terms.
Transitional
Knowing
Individual
Knowing
2nd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
digitizedstudentdevelopment

Student
exploration of
social media.
Does not
understand how
online and offline
interactions can
impact each other.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Student
commitment to
social media.
Develops usage
patterns and
begins to learn
online cultures
and etiquette.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Absolute
Knowing
Student develops
an independent
identity online
Begins to make
choices about
one’s own
representation.
Exploration is on
student’s terms.
Student makes
conscious choices
about social
media usage and
how it fits into life
desires, outlook
and goals.
Realizes that
online life is a
constant
renegotiation
process.
Transitional
Knowing
Individual
Knowing
Contextual
Knowing
2nd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
4th
Order
digitizedstudentdevelopment

Student
exploration of
social media.
Does not
understand how
online and offline
interactions can
impact each other.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Student
commitment to
social media.
Develops usage
patterns and
begins to learn
online cultures
and etiquette.
Strongly
influenced by
authorities and
peers.
Absolute
Knowing
Student develops
an independent
identity online
Begins to make
choices about
one’s own
representation.
Exploration is on
student’s terms.
Student makes
conscious choices
about social
media usage and
how it fits into life
desires, outlook
and goals.
Realizes that
online life is a
constant
renegotiation
process.
Transitional
Knowing
Individual
Knowing
Contextual
Knowing
2nd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
2nd / 3rd
Order
4th
Order
digitizedstudentdevelopment

OwningRatherThan
BeingOwnedBy
SocialMedia

Liam discussing setting goals for social media
use:
“Understand why you’re using social media:
Why are you engaging in this app?
Why are you letting it consume so much
of parts of your day?
Is it to connect with friends?
Just helping get an understanding of why you
do it. I think limiting your amount of time on
social media is a good thing to talk about.”

SelfEsteem,
ExternalDefinition,
andPerfectedImages

!

IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE

IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE

IMAGE: CHOMPOO BARITONE

Hallie discussing how social media creates a
perfected image…
“I think it was cool that [my professor] asked
us think about the highlight reel. Do we use
social media as a highlight reel of our lives and
how many times out of ten would you say that
you wouldn't post something because it's not a
highlight.
And all of us were like, “Oh, all the time.”
He was like, “Go through your day. How many
things would you post, and how many wouldn't
you?”

…I would just encourage [educators] to ask
their students about recognizing—not
necessarily changing it—but recognizing that
what they post, and what other people post,
isn't 100 percent their lives. Because there's a
lot of times when you think that people have
the best life ever because of what they're
posting. When in reality they're going through
a lot, and probably many similar things that you
are, but because they're posting all this fun
stuff, you think that their lives are perfect.”

Logan discussing how social media can harm
one’s self esteem and self image…
“Well I think the biggest problem I faced with
social media is… What are your goals from
social media?
What are you there for?
Is it to get updated on your friends and then is
that what’s happening?

…For me it’s like if someone asked me are you
really just doing it to… is it only furthering the
comparison that’s happening? Since that’s
what’s, I assume, causing my greatest
dissatisfaction at [college]. Seeing my life in
comparison to others. Why? Maybe it’s time
to reevaluate.
So thinking about what people are trying to get
at from their accounts and what they’re
actually being used for. I think it’s a helpful
thing to reflect on.”

pause

Wherehave
youseenthis?
Whatarethe
implications?

emerging
theory

Question
Research
How do college students conceptualize who they
are and how they present themselves when they
are engaged in digital and social media?
@paulgordonbrown

We no longer exist
as playwrights or
actors but as
terminals of
multiple networks.
-Baudrillard
(Baudrillard, 1987/2012, p. 23)@paulgordonbrown

Maria discussing her Instagram profile:
“I think it's who I am
but also who I want
to be and who I want
to become.”

What is
digitized
selfhood?
@paulgordonbrown

HolisticSeparate
“DigitizedSelfhood”
Spectrum
@paulgordonbrown

remember

don’t teach
fearwith

don’t teach with
shame

Maria’s advice for college administrators
educating college students about social media:
“I think I'd say not to phrase it as a cautionary
tale, because it’s something that we’re never
gonna listen to… we know we know more than
administrators with social media.
So I think it should be more about trying to
really understand how we use it, and not just
look at it negatively, because I think it's so
stigmatized, but really understand how to work
with it, because it's not going away.”

digital stamp

theinternetis
FOREVER

You assume
RESPONSIBILITY!
When it comes to privacy…

raiseyour
privacy
settings

BUT

itlowers
yourpotential
impact

!
don’tget
suckedin

making
mistakes
isbetter
than
faking
perfections

Ashley discussing being vulnerable online…
“I would definitely say that social media is a
way to hide your true self and feelings and… I
think people need to be aware of that and
reflective of that when they're on it. I also think
a huge part of social media is hiding your
vulnerability. I think in society today people
look down upon people who are vulnerable and
try to hide their vulnerability as much as
possible. And they think social media helps
people hide their vulnerability because they're
hiding behind it in ways.

I think the only way that people can become
more comfortable in their being vulnerable is
having conversations with others about being
vulnerable. So I think that that could be
something that college administrators could
start… help students realize in social media,
and just in college life in general, we need to
stop trying to hide our vulnerabilities, and
instead be reflective on them and realize what
they need and how you can connect to others
through them.”

LookOut
ForOthers

Beanupstander.
Notabystander.

collegesandemployers
arelistening

Gatsby on the importance of colleges and
universities engaging through social media:
“I think having [official college social media]
accounts is really important—the likes, the
retweets, things like that… in a way it’s a
reminder in the back of your head:
‘There are important people that can see this.’
Which I don’t think is a scare tactic, but it’s just a
good reminder and something that colleges can
do subconsciously to show students more that
they care, but then also remind the students, be
smart about what you’re putting on your Twitter
or tweeting at [college], because they’ll respond.”

social media
isNOT
required
EVERY
time
@paulgordonbrown

Be a digital
change agent

online
areyou
Why
?

Findyour
&meaning.
purpose

Engage with students on social media because
we need to understand them in all of their
contexts. Be open to a different (not
necessarily better or worse) way.
Learn from and with students how to navigate
the online environment. Help them avoid
mistakes. Help them understand their self-
presentation and reputation online. Be a role
model.
Understand how social media may impact the
developmental process-both in light of current
theory and in ways we do not yet understand.
Be able to help students understand, navigate
and leverage it.

break

You don’t
Expert
have to be an

broadcasting

engagement

Best practices.

Who’s your audience?

All students?

A sub-population?

Parents?

Alumni?

Stakeholders?

Who’s your audience?

What are your
platforms?
@paulgordonbrown

What are your
platforms?
@paulgordonbrown

Sex
Race
Age
Educational Level
Income
Employment Status
Urban/Rural
Which demographic breakdown
reveals the biggest disparity in
social media adoption?
@paulgordonbrown

Age
@paulgordonbrown

0
25
50
75
100
Facebook Instragram Twitter Pintrest LinkedIn
Social Media Platform Adoption (2014)
Age comparison
18-29 yo
65+ yo
Source: Pew Research Center Social Media Update 2104 @paulgordonbrown

0
25
50
75
100
Facebook Instragram Twitter Pintrest LinkedIn
Social Media Platform Adoption (2014)
Household income comparison
Less than 30k/yr
More than 75k/yr
30k-
30k-
75k+
75k+
75k+
Source: Pew Research Center Social Media Update 2104 @paulgordonbrown

0
25
50
75
100
Facebook Instragram Twitter Pintrest LinkedIn
Social Media Platform Adoption (2014)
Race comparison
White Hispanic
Black
Black
Black
Black
White
White
Source: Pew Research Center Social Media Update 2104 @paulgordonbrown

0
25
50
75
100
Facebook Instragram Twitter Pintrest LinkedIn
Social Media Platform Adoption (2014)
Sex comparison
Men Women
Women
Women
Men
Women
Men
Source: Pew Research Center Social Media Update 2104 @paulgordonbrown

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year
Quick to “friend” people
Want to appear popular
Self esteem is in part measured by likes
More likely to use Facebook
Communicates primarily with close friends
Understands need to get on Linkedin and make connections
Facebook is for lurking and events, but not engagement
@paulgordonbrown

What are your
platforms?
@paulgordonbrown

What’s your G.I.F.T.?
Modified from Gross, L. (2014). How to manage social media in higher education. http://lizgross.net/ebook/

GoalModified from Gross, 2014

Be helpful?
Be a champion?
Provide information?
Modified from Gross, 2014

Identity
?
Modified from Gross, 2014

?
The royal “we?”
Do we know who you are?
Or is it a persona?
Modified from Gross, 2014

Formality
Modified from Gross, 2014

LOL 😃 👍
Thank you for your inquiry.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
Modified from Gross, 2014

Tone
Modified from Gross, 2014

Playful?
Sarcastic?
Authoritative?
Modified from Gross, 2014

What’s your G.I.F.T.?
Modified from Gross, L. (2014). How to manage social media in higher education. http://lizgross.net/ebook/
Goal
Identity
Formality
Tone

CONTENT IS KING

Who’s
content?
developing your
#SAsocial

Matrix
Topic Examples %
ModifiedfromGross,2014

Topic Examples %
Leadership
Articles
Found on the Web; Added to our blog
from student class assignments
40%
Highlights
Profiles of staff, student leaders, and
highlights of student organizations
30%
Pride Photos Photos of our mascot, photos from events 10%
Deadlines
Informational: org fair sign-ups, last day of
classes, last day to drop classes
20%
Modified from Gross, 2014

CONTENT IS KINGCONTACT
@paulgordonbrown

followers
@paulgordonbrown

SocialListening

?
What are
your
learning
@paulgordonbrown
outcomes

Outcomes
1. Develop relationships with your students
2. Develop community
3. Model appropriate online behavior
4. Customer service
5. Marketing and information sharing
6. Reading student culture/discourse
@paulgordonbrown

Small Group Strategizing

some things to
thinkabout

it takes
TIME

Be consistent
Be dedicated

social media
isNOT
required
EVERY
time
@paulgordonbrown

Resources.