Understanding Digital Student Development by
Paul Gordon Brown

(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

89% of adults 18-29 years
old use social media 67% access it on mobile 98% of adults ages 18-29 are on the internet 70 70 70 43% 60% 89% 65+ 50-64 30-49 70 78% 18-29 social media use by age (Brenner, 2013; Brenner & Smith, 2013; Pew Internet Project, n.d.) younger generations are using the internet, social media, and mobile technologies at a high rate

é Engagement é Persistence é
Social Capital é Relationships é Narcissism ê Task-Switching Whattheresearchtellsus… Collegestudentsocialmedia useandoutcomes…

Digital
Identity

confusion there’s a lot of
with this word…

“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)

“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)

Self Presentation
A Developmental
Process

Self Presentation Some use it
to refer to

Psychological Process And conflate it
with a

in here today we’ll be
talking about what’s going on

research
What does the
say?

NOTHING There has been little
to no qualitative research focusing on the influence of digital and social media on student development.

You can take two points
of view…

(Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, &
Renn, 2010, p. 5; Woodard, Love, & Komives, 2000) “Rapidly changing conditions within society have created dramatically different circumstances for students across time and location… student development must be considered in light of these changing scenarios.” develop new theories

“human development ‘remain[s] much the
same from age to age and must so remain as long as human nature and physical environment existing theories modify/apply (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010, p. 93; Haskins, 1957) continue what they have been. In his relations to life and learning the medieval student resembled his modern successor far more than is often supposed’ (p. 93).”

Applying current theories to online/
social media contexts. • Chickering • Baxter Magolda/Kegan • Bronfenbrenner

Vectorsof Identity Development
Chickering’s
DIGITAL

• Developing competence • Managing
emotions • Moving through autonomy to interdependence • Developing mature interpersonal relationships • Establishing identity • Developing Purpose • Establishing Integrity Vectors

Developing Competence

• Time management • Facility
in using online tools to complete tasks • Communication and interaction skills • Relationship skills • Not exhibiting humblebrag behavior Developing Competence DIGITAL

Managing Emotions

• Anger management - Thinking
before posting • Dealing with depression - Self confidence recognizing that social media posts often only show the positive • Expanding and expressing range of positive emotions • Not posting for sympathy or to elicit response form others Managing Emotions DIGITAL

Autonomy & Interdependence

• Ownership over one’s online
life • Able to use social media as a tool for action • Finding information and resources • Resisting peer pressure • Consciously choosing peers and relationships • Basing relationships on equality and reciprocity Autonomy & Interdependence DIGITAL

“And I like honesty in
a relationship… I’m not into playing games.” Mature Interpersonal Relationships

• Able to engage in
civil discourse through comments and chats • Understanding what online versus offline relationship maintenance should look like - acts appropriately • Thinks about one’s posts and its impact on others Mature Interpersonal Relationships DIGITAL

Establishing Identity

• Identity exploration online —
taking on personas, finding like communities • Acting consistently across contexts (?) Online/Offline, Across different sites • Developing comfort with body and appearance - Selfies? Narcissim? • Establishing and taking an active role in curating self-presentation with purpose Establishing Identity DIGITAL

Developing Purpose

• Utilizing online tools to
network • Engaging in career interests and groups online • Able to articulate how/why they use social media Developing Purpose DIGITAL

Developing Integrity

• Clarify values through online
interaction • Able to understand and contextualize others’ post/beleifs • Are you a authentic self online and off (does it matter?) • Ability to use social media for social good Developing Integrity DIGITAL

Robert Kegan’s
Orders of Consciousness

Stage We are: Subject (structure
of knowing) We Have: Object (content of knowing) Underlying Structure 1 Perceptions SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS Impulses Movement Sensation SinglePoint/ Immediate/ Atomistic 2 Concrete POINT OF VIEW Impulses Perceptions SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS Impulses Durable Category Kegan Subject/Object Schema of Cognitive Development

Stage We are: Subject (structure
of knowing) We Have: Object (content of knowing) Underlying Structure 3 Traditio- nalism Abstractions MUTUALITY/ INTERPERSONALISM Relationship Inner States Concrete POINT OF VIEW Enduring Dispositions, Needs, Prefs. Cross Categorical 4 Modernism Abstract Systems INSTITUTION Relationship-Regulating Forms Self-authorship Abstractions MUTUALITY Relationships Inner states, Subjectivity, Self-consciousness System/Complex

Stage We are: Subject (structure
of knowing) We Have: Object (content of knowing) Underlying Structure 5 Post-Modernism Dialectical INTER-INSTITUTIONAL Self-transformation Abstract Systems Ideology INSTITUTION Relationship-Regulating Forms Self-authorship Trans-System Trans-Complex

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

Self-authored individuals: • Look at
all aspects of a situation or issue • All perspectives no longer equal • Learning involves thinking through problems and integrating knowledge in context • Points of view are supported by evidence

Urie
Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Theory

The student.

is in network with others…
campus cultures… decision makers and rules… and broader societal beliefs.

These all interact in complex
overlapping ways…

Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem Creating
an overall context within which interactions and processes occur that impact a student’s development through time.

Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem Online
interactions with other individuals are placed within the microsystem Microsystems are where one-on-one interactions occur.

Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem “Although
Bronfenbrenner did not include computer-mediated contexts in which college students now experience ‘activities, roles, and interpersonal relations’ (p. 16), in the twenty-first century it seems reasonable to include these contexts, which are not face-to-face settings, in the definition of microsystems since they are sites where social, physical, and symbolic features may provoke or retard engagement with the environment, as described by Bronfenbrenner (1993).” p.163

The student is at an
intersection point of a number of networks.

Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem is
in network with others… is immersed in social media site culture… and is subject to rules and decisions made by social media designers… …and broader beliefs about how the site functions and is used.

Engage with students on social
media because we need to understand them in all of their contexts. Understand how each social media site and tool may impact the developmental process differently by the way they are structured and used. Realize development may happen differently and at different paces in different contexts. Understand that development may be more like a theory of relativity than concrete.

Understanding Digital Student Development by
Paul Gordon Brown

@paulgordonbrown www.paulgordonbrown.com paulgordonbrown@gmail.com Paul Gordon
Brown