ME AND MY DIGITAL SELF

Notes:
- The term "online identity" implies that there is a distinction between how people present
themselves online and how they do offline. But any split between "online" and offline"
identity is narrowing, for two reasons,
- We are living in a digital age and other than face-to-face interaction, we have
interactions involving technology-cellular phones, computers, and other gadgets. Thus,
we build our DIGITAL SELF.
- Thus, we build our DIGITAL SELF. What is your Digital Self? How do you represent
yourself online?
- This chapter module will help you understand how online identity is established
based on what information you offer in technology interactions. It will present the
risks and dangers of posting too much of your personal life or pretending you are
somebody else in the social media world. This chapter module will also present
what you can do to protect your online personality that can affect your offline
personality.

A Western-influenced society like the Philippines consists of 3 domains:

- Family
- School
- Neighborhood

Parents have a dominant influence on their children’s sense of self prior to adolescence

Why use social media platforms?

1. Social browsing
2. Social searching
3. Communication
4. Impression Management

A PROFILE OF INTERNET USERS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Who's using the Internet in the PH?

- The median age is 24 - the millennials who grew up as digital natives
- Filipinos thrive on staying connected with their communities
- We need real-time information to make the right choices, especially during times
of crisis
- The mobile Internet penetration rate is growing at a rate of 1.5x (or 30 million
users) every year
- We consume about 150k terabytes of data annually

TIME SPENT ONLINE

- 3.2 HOURS ON MOBILE
 - 5.2 HOURS ON DESKTOP AND TABLET

TOP ONLINE ACTIVITIES

- 47% Social Media
- 29% Online Shopping
- 19% Videos
- 15% Online and Mobile Games
- 13% Location-Based Search

THE SELF AND OTHER IN CYBERSPACE

Digital Self = Online Identity

- The self is constructed online.
- Online Identity is the sum of characteristics and interactions. Because you interact
differently with each website you visit, each of those websites will have a different picture
of who you are and what your representations of you are referred to as partial identities,
because none of them has the full and true picture of who you are.
- "Your online identity is not the same as your real-world identity because the
characteristics you represent online differ from the characteristics you represent in the
physical world. Every website you interact with has its own idea of your identity because
each one you visit sees you and your characteristics differently.
- "Social media like social network sites, blogs, and online personals require users to
self-consciously create virtual depictions of themselves. One way of understanding such
self-representation is the information and materials people choose to show others on a
Facebook profile or Twitter stream. But identity is also expressed through interacting with
others, whether over instant messenger or email.

Characteristics of the Digital Self:

1. Oriented onward
- Others cannot see the online user's overt attributes
2. Narrative in nature
- Online users will only come to know the person primarily through what the person
tells them.
3. Retractable
- Others are unable to link online self-claims to offline identities
4. Multipliable
- People can interact with one another in different domains of the online world at
relatively the same time.

HOW DO YOU BUILD YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY?

1. SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION
- People are able to present themselves online in the manner that they want to…
 - Self – presentation
- Tends to be superficial
- Research suggests that students and nonstudents (18-39 years old) were
more likely to disclose their interests online rather than their beliefs &
feelings.
- Superficial: shallow, external

- Why do people engage in self-presentation?

- Helps facilitate social interaction
- Enables individuals to attain material and social rewards
- Helps people privately construct desired identities

2. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
- A person influences another person's interpretation of a person, place, or thing
by controlling the information they receive.

- Who are the people you interact with online?

- People you don’t know at all.
- People you know both online and offline.
- People you know only online.
- In the online social domain, It is entirely acceptable to contact and be contacted
by complete strangers.
- Many of the people you interact with in the digital world are those that you know
both online and offline although familiarity with these people varies considerably.
- Regardless of how much you have known them online, their offline identity
largely remains unrevealed or unverified.

● DOES SELF-DISCLOSURE DIFFER BETWEEN COMPUTER-MEDIATED

COMMUNICATION AND FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIPS?

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

1. SELF-PROMOTION
- A person actively says things or takes action to show his or her competence
to an audience

- Examples (BASE ON PPT FILE):

1. A salesperson tells his boss: “My co-worker worked unsuccessfully for 3
years to try to get that account that I was able to close in just 1 week. I’m
the best employee this company has”
2. One that is frequently used is to show interest in another person; ask
questions, pay attention, and single out the person so that you make him
or her feel special. A second strategy is to do favors or to help or assist a
person. For instance, you can bring your colleague a cup of coffee or help
an attractive stranger with car trouble. Third, you may show support and
loyalty, for instance during a meeting, when you express agreement with
 your supervisor. A fourth way to make people like you is simply to smile
and be friendly, cheerful, and positive. Fifth, you can directly express
admiration by flattering people and telling them what you like or admire
about them.
3. It elicits the impression of moral worthiness & integrity while creating a
feeling of guilt among others.
- “I will finish this work even if I fall sick but you go and enjoy”
4. People who engage in intimidation try to gain social power by being
feared. The intimidator tries to convince his target that he is dangerous.
By doing so, he will gain respect from his targets. Intimidation is most
likely to take place in the working field, family, school and etc.

2. SUPPLICATION
- The individual exploits his/her weaknesses or shortcomings to receive
help/benefits.
- The opposite of self-promotion.
- An example of supplication is when you get on your knees and pray to God for
something.
Others:
3. Ingratiation
- The process by which someone tries to win the approval or acceptance of
another.
4. Exemplification
- Involves a strategic self-sacrifice so that observers may recognize the dedication.
5. Intimidation
- involves showing off authority, power, or the potential to punish in order to be
seen by observers as someone who could be or is dangerous.

RESEARCH REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACEBOOK / SNS AND

SELF-ESTEEM
- Facebook/ SNS platforms cause or at least promote narcissistic behavior.
- When Facebook users adopt a comparative mindset, engagement with Facebook lowers
SWB (social well-being) via feelings of envy. ~ Wonseok (Eric) Jang (2018)
- Social networking was also found to be addictive.
- Causes the following:
- Anxiety
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Poor concentration
- Depression
- Headaches
 - Social Isolation
- Chronic users who suddenly stopped online social networking have been observed to
display signs and symptoms that at least partially resemble alcohol/nicotine withdrawal:

WHAT MAKES US SO ADDICTED?

1. Social networks are an extension of ourselves.

2. Social validation is an important part of being human.

3. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is a large driver of social network use, particularly for
those aged thirty and under.
- We have a brain wired for collaboration, compromise, restraint, comprehending,
and managing one’s place in shifting alliances.
- We notice when others are doing something that excludes us. It will trigger some
primitive survival responses. People under 30 are still in the period when they are
establishing their own lives, developing personal and professional identities,
becoming economically viable (creating alliances), etc. Their focus will of
necessity be social.
4. Ego needs a platform to showcase itself and social networks are the perfect answer.

5. Social comparison and self-esteem increase.

- People compare themselves to assess feelings, strengths, weaknesses, abilities,
and perspectives. Having your social connections reaffirmed makes you feel
good.
6. Brain chemistry.
- Using social media increases the dopamine levels in the brain.
- Social networks are physically addictive as well as psychologically. A study from
Harvard University showed that self-disclosure online fires up a part of the brain
that also lights up when taking an addictive substance, like cocaine.
7. It patterns a habit.

ONE CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE

- According to Paul Watzlawick, humans communicate as soon as they perceive each
other. From this it follows that every kind of interaction is communication.
- Social networks have the power to amplify this human nature. They have broken
the barriers of distance and time, of presence and visibility. They expand the
possibilities of sharing and playing identities. They fulfill the most deeply human
need of finding a psychological distinctiveness and self-definition in a social
context.

- SMART SHARING
- is being smart about sharing online.
- Why? (Notes)
 - In the online social domain, It is entirely acceptable to contact and be contacted
by complete strangers.
- Many of the people you interact with in the digital world are those that you know
both online and offline although familiarity with these people varies considerably.
- Regardless of how much you have known them online, their offline identity
largely remains unrevealed or unverified.

- “ALL MEDIA ARE EXTENSIONS OF SOME HUMAN FACULTY”

- MARSHALL MCLUHAN, 1964
- Social networks are an extension of our deepest psychological instinct, being
social.

Negative Impact of Social Media and Online Interaction of the self:

1. Extensive online engagement is correlated w/ personality and brain disorders.

2. Low self-esteem due to the risk of being exposed to cyberbullying and

cyberpornography.

3. More occupied with giving attention to social media than in keeping their customs
and practices.
- people may be more focused on their social media presence and
interactions than on maintaining their own cultural traditions and
practices. In other words, social media may be taking up more of their
time and attention than their own customs and practices.

Positive Impact of Social Media and Online Interaction of the self

1. Social media sites inform & empower individuals to change themselves and their
communities.
2. Increased self-esteem when receiving likes and shares.
3. Boost one’s morals & feelings of self-worth

● WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE “BENEFITS” AND “RISKS” IF YOUR ONLINE PROFILE IS
MADE PUBLIC?