Digital Footprints and Changing Networks During Online Identity Transitions
Managing Design for Life Disruptions
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Haimson, Oliver L.
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Brubaker, Jed R.
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Dombrowski, Lynn
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Hayes, Gillian R.
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'16 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2016-05-07
v.1
p.2895-2907
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: Digital artifacts on social media can challenge individuals during identity
transitions, particularly those who prefer to delete, separate from, or hide
data that are representative of a past identity. This work investigates
concerns and practices reported by transgender people who transitioned while
active on Facebook. We analyze open-ended survey responses from 283
participants, highlighting types of data considered problematic when separating
oneself from a past identity, and challenges and strategies people engage in
when managing personal data in a networked environment. We find that people
shape their digital footprints in two ways: by editing the self-presentational
data that is representative of a prior identity, and by managing the
configuration of people who have access to that self-presentation. We outline
the challenging interplay between shifting identities, social networks, and the
data that suture them together. We apply these results to a discussion of the
complexities of managing and forgetting the digital past.