Tightly overlapping identities can trigger defensiveness that makes us more susceptible to misinformation.

Social media feeds often amplify certain identities, quietly narrowing the information we're exposed to.

More distinct, independent identities build resilience against biased information processing.

What shapes what you believe? If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I talk a lot about social identity and how it influences how we process information. In a previous post, I described how having a diverse set of social identities can actually protect us against misinformation, a concept known in social psychology as social identity complexity.

The short version: When our identities heavily overlap with each other, a challenge to one (such as seeing factual information that makes us uncomfortable) can feel like a threat to our entire sense of self. That defensiveness makes us more vulnerable to false information that reinforces who we are. But when our identities are more distinct and independent, we have a broader foundation to draw from, and we’re better equipped to evaluate information more openly. I explore this in more detail in my book Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do About It, and discuss it regularly in talks, but I wanted to create something actionable that people could engage with directly.

I'm excited to share a new interactive tool to help you explore your own identity map!

Introducing the Identity Map Interactive Tool

My Identity Map tool is a free, browser-based worksheet that walks you through five steps:

Select the identities that feel genuinely true to you.

Rate how important each identity is to your sense of self.

Choose your social media platforms and identify which identities each feed amplifies.

Drag your identity circles to show how much they overlap in real life.

See your Complexity Score and reflect on what your map reveals.

At the end, you’ll get a Complexity Score and three reflection questions designed to help you think critically about your identity profile and your information environment.

A few important notes: This tool is designed for reflection and educational purposes only. The scores are rough estimates meant to prompt thinking, not precise measurements. Think of your identity map as a mirror, not a diagnostic tool. The exercise is grounded in research by Roccas & Brewer (2002) on social identity complexity. I also drew inspiration from Peter Coleman’s book and exercises on social identity mapping.

I have a few other interactive media literacy tools in the works. Stay tuned!

Note: The Identity Map works on mobile too, though the desktop experience is better. On mobile, you can’t drag the circles, but you can still rate the overlap manually. This is also version one, so I’d love your feedback as I continue to improve it. There is a Google form at the end to share any feedback you have directly with me.

Also, feel free to share your complexity score on social media, or with your friends & family!

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