Taking Pride in your Digital Presence

By Allan Theophanides

What is this session all about?

Knowledge Awareness Understanding Best Practice

Your digital identity

“A digital identity is information used to represent persons, organisations, or machines in information systems and networks.The term digital identity has three distinct senses: computational, legal and social.”

Wikipedia, (2015). Digital identity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_identity [Accessed 22 Sep. 2015].

The social sense

“In the social sense, digital identity refers to any collection of information that describes a person, and which was generated by that person’s online activity. In this sense a digital identity is the online version of an individual’s personal, or social, identity.”

Wikipedia, (2015). Digital identity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_identity [Accessed 22 Sep. 2015].

Identifying YOUR identity!

Whether you realise it or not, Google provides the most open and easily accessible digital identity that anyone can look at.

Most importantly you cannot change it easily!

TASK 1: On your device leave the PollEverywhere page for the moment and just ‘Google’ yourself. Please use both text and images searches and let us know what you find!

Social networking in the UK

Social Tools

The national consensus

Check your privacy! Given that Facebook is the most widely used

social networking tool in the UK it is more than likely that your peers and patients will be using it too.

Consequently it is always worth checking how your profile looks to not only your friends, but also the public.

Check your privacy! You might be fresher students here to study hard…

…but would you trust this guy with your health?FLOZIM. Boozer. 4th Sept 2008. https://www.flickr.com/photos/flowizm/2827746964 [Accessed 23rd Sept. 2015]

and possibly party harder…

Check your privacy! Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn are much easier to

check your public identity just by search online. Privacy settings are also much easier to organise. Don’t completely rely on privacy settings, things

can change without notice. Simple rule of thumb…just try not to make

comments or posts that your family or a prospective employer would find inappropriate. That way you avoid the risk.

Professional or personal profiles Facebook only generally allows you to setup a single account

under your identity and can randomly close down duplicates. Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, etc. allow you to create multiple

accounts enabling you to maintain one for personal updates and the other for professional

Decide whether you would like to have a separate account for you academic and professional identity now, it’s harder to implement later down the line after a year or two studying.

Remember that although mobile apps allow for ease of access and posting updates, they don’t allow for multiple accounts. So if you have split profiles, please remember where you are posting to!

Professionalism or paranoia?

“Doctors’ use of social media can benefit patient care by:a. engaging people in public health and policy discussionsb. establishing national and international professional networksc. facilitating patients’ access to information about health and services.”

General Medical Council. Doctors’ use of social media (2013). http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/21186.asp [Accessed 23rd Sept 2015]

Professional responsibility“Respect for colleagues

15. Good medical practice says that doctors must treat colleagues fairly and with respect. This covers all situations and all forms of interaction and communication. You must not bully, harass or make gratuitous, unsubstantiated or unsustainable comments about individuals online.16. When interacting with or commenting about individuals or organisations online, you should be aware that postings online are subject to the same laws of copyright and defamation as written or verbal communications, whether they are made in a personal or professional capacity.”

General Medical Council. Doctors’ use of social media (2013). http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/21186.asp [Accessed 23rd Sept 2015]

Professional Networking Social networks such as LinkedIn and Meducation exist to

facilitate professionally focused discussion and collaboration. GMC support the use of social media to improve patient

communication Whatever social media you use think twice about accepting a

patient friend request, especially to your personal networks:“If a patient contacts you about their care or other professional matters through your private profile, you should indicate that you cannot mix social and professional relationships and, where appropriate, direct them to your professional profile.”

General Medical Council. Doctors’ use of social media (2013). http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/21186.asp [Accessed 23rd Sept 2015]

Digital identity; a summary… Google yourself and check your privacy settings regularly on

any social network tools that you use. Consider keeping your personal and professional profiles or

posts separate. Think twice about anything you post online to do with your

studies or professional practice. It may seem appropriate, but the responses that come as a result may not be.

If you do see anything inappropriate online posted by a colleague and you can’t do anything about it directly, raise it with the individual in question or escalate it.

Ensure that you maintain the GMC recommended professional boundaries with patients, especially when using social media.

Digital Distractions

The Digital Temptation

According to Ofcom’s ‘Adults’ media use and attitudes Report 2015’ people aged between 16 and 24 now spend more than 27 hours a week online at various locations, for various purposes.

Given that you have 5 years worth of study ahead of you, we would like you to think how you will manage the increasing temptation of social media, music, videos, gaming, etc. especially when you have to go online for learning and research?

Digital Responsibility ‘Digital Responsibility’ [http://www.digitalresponsibility.org]

was created by employees in Silicon Valley to share the often unacknowledged consequences of technology. They’re suggestions include:

Create a “tech blackout” day once a week. Set boundaries for text-free spaces and times. For instance, try

making a pact to put away mobiles during meals, car rides or a particular hour of the evening.

If you can’t disconnect, relocate. Try bringing your gadgets into a shared space where you can talk to each other.

Turn off notifications and set times to answer email or check social media only a few times a day. Not only will this boost productivity, but it will help you feel more in control.

Further Reading General Medical Council. Good Medical Practice -

http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/index.asp British Medical Association (2011). Using social media:

practical and ethical guidance for doctors and medical students http://bma.org.uk/-/media/files/pdfs/practical%20advice%20at%20work/ethics/socialmediaguidance.pdf

Cardiff University. Developing your digital presence - http://www.scoop.it/t/developing-your-digital-presence

Digital Responsibility. Digital Distractions - http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/digital-distraction