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The Challenge of Developing One’s Own Identity in ICT Contexts: The Apparent Need to Share Everything

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Identity in a Hyperconnected Society

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Abstract

Social networks are undoubtedly our main means of communication today. We use them to find information and express ourselves. This affects both the public and private spheres, and the border between them is increasingly blurred. Social networks provide us with diverse information and require a response. This demand has led to publicly telling how what we experience affects us and what is happening to us being socially valued. However, developing a truly personal identity has traditionally required us to not tell anyone certain things; in other words, knowing how to keep secrets. This chapter aims to show how the difficulty of keeping secrets today affects personal identity development. We will first describe the role secrets have traditionally played in developing identity. Then we will address the current situation. Finally, we will conclude with the need for education in the importance of secrets, although adapted to the current restrictions of what is essentially digital life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Alberto Sánchez-Rojo

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  1. Alberto Sánchez-Rojo
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Correspondence to Alberto Sánchez-Rojo .

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  1. Faculty of Education, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    José Manuel Muñoz-Rodríguez

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Sánchez-Rojo, A. (2021). The Challenge of Developing One’s Own Identity in ICT Contexts: The Apparent Need to Share Everything. In: Muñoz-Rodríguez, J.M. (eds) Identity in a Hyperconnected Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85788-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85788-2_3

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