CHAPTER 11 THE DIGITAL SELF

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
o Discuss and share how one presents himself or herself “virtually”
o Enumerate ways on how to use social media effectively
o Discuss digital self as an extension of the self

INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS
o What social media accounts do you have? When do you utilize these?
o Do you think the interactions you have in these platforms affect your sense of self?

DIGITAL SELF
Digital self: the contribution of human-machine interaction to individual self-description and self-
perception (Zimmerman, 2020)
Self-presentation- is the process by which individuals represent themselves to the social
world.
Strategic or tactical self-presentation (impression management) -occurs when individuals
seek to create a desired image or invoke a desired response from others.
Situated identity- a conception of who a person is in relation to other people involved in the
situation (Alexander & Rudd and Alexander & Wiley as cited in Delamater & Myers, 2012)
STRATEGIES USED IN SELF-PRESENTATION

• Self-promotion- engaging in behaviors or saying positive things about oneself

• Ingratiation- complimenting, flattering, or engaging in other acts that lead a person to do
things for you or like you.
• Exemplification involves inducing other people to regard one as a highly moral, virtuous
person whose actions are consistent with positive, shared values.
• Intimidation- an individual produces fear and gains power by convincing others they are
powerful and/ or dangerous.
• Supplication- advertise the weakness or dependence, hoping the solicit help for sympathy
out of a sense of social obligation.

IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS ON THE SELF

Social media allows us to explore and try different identities. Social media has a very strong
impact on the self-esteem of individuals. Students use these social networking sites for information,
communication and building and maintain of relationships. But majority of the people end up making
upward and downward comparisons with others (Jan, Soomro, & Ahmad, 2017).
The study of Steinnsbekk et al. (2021) demonstrates that whether youth simply comment and
“like” others' posts versus actively “self-present” on social media differently affects appearance self-
esteem.
 Moreover, in the study of Bailey, Matz, Youyou, and Iyengar (2020) they found out that
individuals who are more authentic in their self-expression also report greater Life Satisfaction
High agreeableness and neuroticism were the best predictors of belongingness.
Belongingness motivations are strong in agreeable individuals and these results suggest that
Facebook is one tool by which they meet these needs (Seidman, 2013).

REFERENCES
Bailey, E., Matz, S., Youyou, W., & Iyengar, S. (2020) Authentic self-expression on social media is
associated with greater subjective well-being. Nat Commun 11 4889 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18539-w
Degho, S. Sagun-Degho, G., De Claro, L., & Lejano, J. (2018) Understanding the self. Malabon City,
Philippines: Mutya Publishing House
DeLamater, J. & Myers, D. (2012) Social Psychology 7th Edition. Pasig City, Philippines: Cengage
Learning Asia Pte Ltd
Jan, M. Soomro, S. & Ahmad, N. (2017) Impact of Social Media on Self-Esteem. European Scientific
Journal. 13 (23) doi: 10.19044/esj.2017.v13n23p329
URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/esj.2017.v13n23p329
Niwlikar, B. (2020) Self-Presentation Strategies Retrieved from
https://www.careershodh.com/self-presentation-strategies/
Principles Of Social Psychology Module 3: The Self. Retrieved from
https://opentext.wsu.edu/social-psychology/chapter/module-3-the-self/
Seidman, G. (2013) Self-presentation and belonging on Facebook: How personality influences social
media use and motivations. Personality and Individual Differences. 54 (3).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.10.009
"Self-Presentation." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Retrieved from
Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-
magazines/self-presentation
Steinsbekk, S., Wichstrom, L., Stenseng, F., Nesi, J., Hygen, B., Skalicka, V. (2021) The impact of social
media use on appearance self-esteem from childhood to adolescence – A 3-wave community study.
Computers in Human Behavior. 114 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106528

Zimmermann, N. (2020) The Digital Self Digital Transformation in Learning for Active Citizenship.
DARE – Brussels: Democracy and Human Rights Education. Retrieved from
https://dttools.eu/pdf/digit-al-io1-the-digital-self.pdf