How our online personas are being treated as next generation credit scores

Igniyte’s Simon Wadsworth talks to digitaltrends.com about how our online personas are being treated as next generation credit scores.

This article discusses how the recent ongoing Facebook saga involving potential user data abuse underlines the ways our online personas are curated, collected and monetised. Increasingly, it says, they will be “treated as next-generation credit scores, not only able to keep tabs on our financial respectability but also other metrics by which we can be considered quality citizens”. While we’re all still getting to grips with the way that our digital identities are changing, studies do suggest that social media profiles can be used to predict our employment success.

Online personas – the next generation credit card

Igniyte’s Simon Wadsworth says: “I think the CV of now and the future moves from a paper one that we send out, to how we look when we’re ‘Googled’. We know that’s the first port of call for employers. Looking your best online will be a major factor when you’re looking to get a new job, go into higher education, get a job, or even buy a house.

“I think also there is an issue if a person can’t be found online in any way – so a happy medium is required. Not being ‘discoverable’ online could mean that a person has something to hide. More mundanely, but crucially, it might also simply leave you out in the digital cold. For the generation going to college and getting jobs, it suggests not being very digitally savvy if they have no presence online.”

The problematic nature of digital identities will only become more complex as we continue to live increasingly online, the article states. You can read the full article here