LESSON 6:

The Digital Self

Topics 01 What Statistics Say

02 Self and Other in Cyberspace

03 Two Categories of Online Disinhibition

04 I, Me, Myself and My User ID Online Identity

Self-Presentation Strategies and

05 Impression Management
Topics 06 Impact of Online Interactions on the Self

07 Boundaries of the Self Online

08 Private Vs. Public

09 Personal/Individual Vs. Social Identity Online

10 Gender and Sexuality Online

 What Philippines is the fastest-
growing market of smartphones
Statistics in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) based

Say
on the report of a market
research company, International
Data Corporation (IDC)
- Mednilla (2016)

Another report indicated that

about 3.5 million smartphones
were shipped to the country
during the first quarter of
2016.
 Currently…

About 30 percent of all Filipinos are

smartphone users and that is projected
to increase in the next years
 What
Statistics
Say
- Pew (2014)

Americans between the ages of 8

and 18 years spend on average 7.5
hours per day using some sort of
electronic devices, and 95% of
them have access to internet.
Statistics from Western countries showed that in 2012:
• 78% of online teens own a cellphone
• 8 out of 10 teens own a desktop or laptop
• 23% of teens have tablet computer
• 50% send 50 or more text messages a day
 Self and Other in
Cyberspace
Digital Literacy is defined as those
capabilities possessed by individuals who
are living, learning and working in a
digital society

Online Disinhibition is the lack
of restraint one feels when
communicating online in
comparison to communicating
in-person. This could have both
positive and negative effects.
Two Categories of Online Disinhibition
01 BENIGN DISINHIBITION
On the Benign side, the disinhibition
indicates an attempt to understand
and explore oneself, to work
through problems, and find new way
of being
02 TOXIC DISINHIBITION
Disinhibition can be ugly. People
have witnessed rude language, harsh
criticism, anger, hatred, even threats
online. Others may even go to the
dark side of internet where they can
access pornography, crimes and
other form of violence. These are all
toxic disinhibition.
People tend to go to virtual spaces
which they are not supposed to
explore.
Cyber Bullying is bullying that takes place using electronic
technology.

Electronic Technology includes devices and equipment such

as cell phones, computers and tablets

Communication Tools including social media sites, text

messages, chat, and websites

Cyber Harassment (Adult form of Cyber Bullying)

 Managing Online Disinhibition

02 03 04
01
or
Don’t post
ng Don’t hang out Don’t hang out
send anythi Do be
be with the with the
you would careful about
d “wrong crowd” “wrong crowd”
embarrasse over-sharing
online. offline.
for certain
e
others to se
 Managing Online Disinhibition
06 07
05
r
Do conside Do consider
nal
your emotio the reaction
state before individuals are Do search for
i rt ua l l y po sting expecting yourself
v
ng to
or respondi from toxic online.
anything disinhibition.
I, Me, Myself and my
User ID Online
Identity
Digital Identity (DI) refers to anything that
describes a persona an individual presents across
all the digital spaces that he/she is represented in.

Symbolic Markers express one’s identity to others

and helps them make sense of it themselves.
 I, Me, Myself and my User ID
Online Identity
In relation to identity, Internet Disembodiment refers to the identity, soul or
spirit separate from physical body.

On the internet , people can be whoever they want to be. They can completely
redefined themselves if they want. People don’t look at bodies or hear the
accents for them to make assumptions. All they see are the words.
- Turkle
(1995)

Username is also called a login name, logon name, sign-in name, sign-on name
which is a unique sequence of characters used to identify a user and allow
access to a computer system, computer network, or online account.
 I, Me, Myself and my User ID
Online Identity
Dissociative Imagination. For them, identity online is a just a game. How
people act in a fantasy game is not always how people act in a real world.

Solipsistic Introjection. A notion that is only in their heads or minds. When

people don’t know what a virtual person looks or sounds like, people tend to
assign traits to those individuals which is an imaginary interaction with the
introjected character.

Dissociative Anonymity. As the words “anonymous” indicates, a person can

have no name or at least not the real name. People don’t have to own their
behavior by acknowledging it within the full context of who “they” really are.
 Self-Presentation
Strategies and
Impression Management
Self-Presentation is a range of strategies that
people adopt to shape what others think of them.
 Self-Presentation Strategies and
Impression Management

04 Intimidation 05 Supplication
The person who is using The person who is using
intimidation tries to appear supplication would like to
dangerous or ruthless. appear helpless.

01 Self-promotion
03 Exemplification
The person who is using
02 Ingratiation
The person who is using
self-promotion is trying to The person using
exemplification has an
show that he/she is ingratiation in presenting
intention to achieve worth
competent, effective or a oneself to others has desire
from others.
winner. to be likeable.
 Self-Presentation Strategies and
Impression Management

Self-enhancement refers to the

tendency to think of oneself in a
favourable light

Impression Management refers to a

deliberate attempt to distort one’s
responses in order to create a
favourable impression with others.
 Impact of Online
Interactions on the Self
The development of the person’s social aspects can
be greatly influenced by technology due to an
insufficient amount of real life social encounters.

- Diaz, Evans and Gallagher 2014

Impact of Online Interactions on the Self
Based on the analysis of teenagers’ online experience, studies showed that
‘others’ on the internet constitute a distinctive “looking glass” that produces
a “digital self” that differs from the self formed offline. While online a
person’s status in the face-to-face world may not be known to others and
may not have that much of an impact.
 Impact of Online
Interactions on the
Self

Abuse of technology always leads to negative

consequences. Even if there are cases when social
media negatively impacts users, it would be unfair if
only the technology would be blamed.
 Boundaries of the
Self Online
Personal Boundaries are the set of guidelines,
rules or limits that a person creates to identify
reasonable, safe and permissible ways for people
to behave towards them and how they respond in
case someone breaks these rules or oversteps the
limits.

Asynchronicity. It allows a person to think more carefully about what he/she would like to say before
posting, which could help when someone has trouble with face to face interactions
 Private Vs. Public

In many online environments people cannot see others.

Nobody can judge the statements and images because of
the cloak of invisibility.

In the public mode, the post will be treated as an open

book. Because of security, many online users are using the
private mode.

Invisibility is also a gauge to misrepresent oneself. A man

may represent himself as a woman and vice versa.
 Personal/Individual
Vs.
Social Identity Online
Social Identity is usually based on group
affiliation. Like in social media many people
identify themselves as a member of a certain group
so that it will be easy for them to communicate
their concerns and issues.

In the modern era (enlightenment through 20th century), Identity is described as fixed, stable and
unitary.
In post-modern period (now), Identity is considered as fluid, multiple and socially constructed.
In sociology, identity theory (Stryker, 1980) explained that individuals have “role
identities.” It is the character and the role an individual devises as an occupant
of a particular social position. The greater the commitment of an identity, the
greater the salience identity. Salience of identity influences behavioural choices
in a situation.
 Gender and
Sexuality Online
Gender Intensification Hypothesis states that
psychological and behavioural differences
between boys and girls become greater during
early adolescence because of increased
socialization pressure to conform to masculine
and feminine gender roles (Santrock, 2014).

Sexting refers to sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs or

images, primarily between mobile phones.
THANK YOU
Source: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (Book)
Pictures/Images from Pinterest/Internet
REPORTERS:

Galicha, Ma Althea Tan

Torres, Darlene Mae A.

Flores, Riandel Kurt