The Art of Sharing: Reflexivity in a Digital Age

On April 24, 2009, I purchased this domain with the intent of creating a blog. I wanted to do this so I could share my thoughts in an online forum, connect with other like-minded individuals, and keep up-to-date on current trends in web design. While this URL currently functions as an online portfolio to accompany my resume and provide visual elements and artifacts that speak to my professional abilities, I only really post to this domain when I am updating my existing skill sets, so I tend to keep the content professional in nature. For eight years now, I have been mulling over the idea of starting a personal blog to document my life experience, however, I have yet to take that all-important first step.

In this qualitative research paper, I explore the factors that influence one’s desire to share in a digital space. By examining the motives and obstacles that exist in the everyday lives of current bloggers, it is possible to recognize the multiplicities associated with online identity construction that must be confronted on a regular basis when one moves beyond the walls of established social media networks. Once identified, these findings will be used to aid non-bloggers in evaluating the pros and cons associated with maintaining a blog in order to consciously move toward marrying isolated instances of digital personas that exist on current social media networks.

Full Proposal: The Art of Sharing: Reflexivity in a Digital Age

By examining the obstacles that get between myself and blogging, I formulated a series of questions in order to elicit the motivating factors that propel a blogger to regularly participate in that activity. Personal narrative was used to guide the line of questioning conducted in one-on-one interviews during this qualitative research study. Respondent feedback aided in the classification or personas, highlighting the influence that specific social media networks have on how and why we ultimately choose to interact with them.

Along with privacy concerns, this paper adds unique insights into the compromises that must be made when putting yourself online. As we examine the benefits of merging our physical and digital selves, it is important to recognize the potential ramifications that our online actions may hold in the physical world.