Communities, Networks, and Tools all online: Part 2

Continuing from my previous post, there are many online communities that form networks of connections between users. At times these spheres may intersect, which was one of the topics emphasized during our course this week. The idea is called context collapse-- where people in different online communities tend to collide, often times within a social media network. 

An interesting part of context collapse to consider is how it depends on an individual's perspective and their different personal portrayals. An individual's portrayals of their self may differ among groups of people and the associated online accounts being used. For example, some social media tools can have content being shared just for fun or communication purposes while other online programs like LinkedIn tend to only have a more professional nature. 

I personally related with the ideas of how individual self-monitoring becomes necessary within context collapse. Sometimes, the online tools and users in them are bound to intersect so it is necessary to regulate what information and how much you choose to post and share about yourself. 

I definitely have found generally with social media apps and specifically on Facebook that it is important to be careful and aware of what content I post, comment on, and am tagged on. This simply is the result of me trying to maintain a personal presence online that reflects well as I know there are so many other people (whether they are relatives, friends, peers, coworkers, etc.) who can see it. An additional note I try to keep in mind is that having worked with kids in local classrooms and at my church, I also have some friendly parents and school staff members connected to my profile through Facebook.