THE DIGITAL SELF

ACTIVITY: 1. How many social media accounts do you have? Explain.

ABSTRACTION

ONLINE IDENTITY AND “SELF” IN CYBERSPACE: (I, ME, MYSELF AND MY USER ID ONLINE
IDENTITY)
Online identity is the sum of your characteristics that you project online. Because you interact
differently with each website you visit, each of those websites will have a different picture of you of who
you are and what you do. Sometimes the different 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 real world.”

Most online identity researches focused on self-presentation. The user self-consciously creates
virtual depictions of themselves. One way of understanding such self-representation is the information
and materials people choose to show others on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter stream.
The self-concept is also very much a social phenomenon. It has social roots (e.g., reflected
appraisals, social comparison), it includes social identities and roles, and it guides our perception of
others and our behavior in social settings. Self-presentational behavior is any behavior intended to create,
modify, or maintain an impression of ourselves in the minds of others. Whenever we are attempting to
lead people to think of us in a particular way, we are engaging in self-presentation.

The Nature of Self-Presentation

A. Why Do People Engage in Self-Presentation?

1. Facilitate Social Interaction
The most basic function of self-presentation is to define the nature of a social situation
(Goffman, 1959). Most social interactions are very role governed. Each person has a role to
play, and the interaction proceeds smoothly when these roles are enacted effectively.

2. Gain Material and Social Rewards

People also strive to create impressions of themselves in the minds of others in order to gain
material and social rewards (or avoid material and social punishments). It is usually in our best
interests to have others view us in a particular way. This type of strategic self-presentation
represents a form of social influence in which one person (the self- presenter) attempts to gain
power over another (the audience). This approach assumes that we are in a better position to
influence the nature of social interaction in a manner that suits our purposes if we are able to
control how others see us. Strategic self-presentation does not necessarily mean that we are
trying to deceive others (though sometimes we are). It can also involve genuine attempts to bring
our (self- perceived) positive qualities to the attention of others. Most of the time, strategic self-
presentation involves “selective disclosures and omissions, or matters of emphasis and timing,
rather than blatant deceit or dissimulation” (Jones, 1990, p.175)

3. Self-Construction
Another reason we try to create impressions of ourselves in the minds of others is to construct a
particular identity for ourselves. Sometimes, self-construction is initiated in order to create an
identity. Rosenberg (1979) notes that this is particularly prevalent during adolescence.
Adolescents routinely try out different identities. They adopt the dress and mannerisms of
various social types (e.g., the sophisticate; the rebel), and studiously note people’s reactions to
these displays in an attempt to fashion an identity that fits. Other times, self-construction is
undertaken to confirm an already established self-view. Swann (1990) calls this form of self-
construction “self-verification,” and Wicklund and Gollwitzer (1982) refer to such behavior as
“self-symbolizing.” Self-enhancement needs also underlie self-construction. Most people like to
think of themselves as being competent, likable, talented, and so forth. By convincing others that
they possess these positive attributes, people are better able to convince themselves. This, in
turn, makes people feel better about themselves. In this sense, we can say that people seek to
create impressions in the minds of others because it makes them feel good about themselves to
do so.

B. When and How Do People Manage Impressions?

People form impressions of us whenever we are in public, but we are not always actively
monitoring or regulating those impressions. In many situations, our self- presentations are
automatic or habitual, and we are devoting little conscious attention to how we are being
perceived by others. In other situations, we become acutely aware of the impressions we are
creating, and we actively strive to take control of these impressions
 1. Situational Variables That Influence Impression Motivation
The first component of self-presentation is a motivational one. Before we can create a desired
impression, we have to be motivated to do so. Several factors can arouse this motive. One of
the most important occurs when desired external rewards depend on the judgments of others
(Buss & Briggs, 1984; Leary & Kowalski, 1990; Schlenker, 1980). The motivation to engage in
self-presentation also tends to increase when we are the focus of other people’s attention.

2. Social Acuity
Once we are motivated to create a particular impression, we need to possess an awareness of
how that impression can best be created. This cognitive ability is called social acuity (Hogan
& Briggs, 1986). Social acuity refers to our ability to know what we would need to do in order
to successfully create a desired impression. Mead’s influence is apparent here. In order to
communicate effectively, people must be able to anticipate how their own symbolic gestures
will be interpreted by others. The same is true for successful self- presentation. To create a
desired impression, we must put ourselves in other people’s shoes and discern what
behaviors would produce a given impression.

3. Behavioral Skills
Behavioral skills are the third component of successful self-presentation. People need to be
capable of performing the behaviors they believe will create a desired impression. Numerous
tactics are used to create a desired impression. What we post in our online accounts is one of
the tactics. Our hair, physique, figure, and clothing all serve to create particular impressions
of us in the minds of others.

C. Individual Differences in Self-Presentation

Although everyone engages in self-presentation, people vary with respect to how concerned they
are with their public image and with the kinds of impressions they try to convey.

Self-Monitoring
Mark Snyder (1974) developed the scale to measure the degree to which people monitor and
control their behavior in public situations. High self-monitors regard themselves as highly
pragmatic and flexible people who strive to be the right person for every occasion. When
entering a social situation, they try to discern what the model or prototypic person would do
in that situation. They then use this knowledge to guide their own behavior. Low self-
monitors adopt a different orientation. They regard themselves as highly principled people
who value consistency between who they are and what they do. When entering a social
situation, they look inward and use their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings to guide their
behavior. Instead of striving to be the right person for the situation, they strive to be
themselves in social settings.

Friendship patterns are also influenced by differences in self-monitoring. High self- monitors
tend to have many different friends, each suitable for a different activity. For example, they
play sports with one friend, go to the theater with another, and talk politics with yet another.
This pattern allows them to express their characteristic orientation to be a different person in
different situations. In contrast, low self-monitors have relatively few friends, and they
engage in multiple activities with each one. They are more inclined to play sports, go to the
theater, and talk politics with the same friend. This pattern is conducive to being the same
person in all situations.

The different orientations of high self-monitors and low self- monitors with reference to the
three components of self-presentation we discussed earlier. High self-monitors are social
chameleons. They enjoy being different people in different situations, and they possess the
cognitive and behavioral skills needed to play many roles. In contrast, low self-monitors
think of themselves as highly principled individuals who cherish being “true to themselves” in
various situations. They are also somewhat less adept at reading the character of the social
situation and their acting skills are not as well developed.

II. Creating Desired Impressions

A. What Impressions Do People Try to Create?

The number of impressions people try to create of themselves in the minds of others is almost
limitless.

1. Ingratiation
Ingratiation is probably the most familiar impression management strategy. The goal of
ingratiation is to get the other person to like you. Since we tend to like people who agree with
us, say nice things about us, do favors for us, and possess positive interpersonal qualities (e.g.,
warmth and kindness), it should come as no surprise that ingratiation can be accomplished
through imitation, flattery, doing favors for someone, and displaying positive personal
characteristics (Jones, 1990).
 People want to believe they are likable and are liked by others. Consequently, they are
disinclined to believe that a show of admiration or affection from another person is inauthentic
or derives from an ulterior motive, even when such a motive is obvious to an impartial observer
(Jones & Wortman, 1973). For this reason, ingratiation (if it is at least somewhat subtle) is often
a highly successful self-presentational ploy.

2. Self-Promotion
Self-promotion is another common self-presentational strategy. Here we seek to convince people
of our competence. This is not the same as ingratiation. With ingratiation, we are trying to get
people to like us. With self-promotion, we are trying to get people to think we are capable,
intelligent, or talented.

3. Intimidation
Ingratiation and self-promotion are the most common self-presentational strategies.
But there are others. Sometimes people want to be feared. This is intimidation.

4. Exemplification
Another form of self-presentation is exemplification. With exemplification,
people attempt to create the impression that they are morally superior, virtuous, or righteous.
Exemplification is often portrayed by exaggerating the degree to which one has suffered poor
treatment at the hands of others or has endured excessive hardships.

5. Supplication
A final form of self-presentation is supplication. Supplication occurs when people publicly
exaggerate their weaknesses and deficiencies. For example, in earlier times, women were
expected to play helpless (rather than appear competent) in order to attract a mate. Men do this
as well, of course, as when a husband claims to not know how to use the dishwasher or washing
machine. The more general point is that people will sometimes exaggerate their incompetence
and frailties if doing so gets them what they want.

B. What Constitutes a Desirable Impression?

No matter which impressions people try to convey, these impressions will be effective only if they are
accepted by others. Schlenker (1980, 1985; Schlenker & Weigold, 1989) has proposed that
successful self-presentation always involves a trade-off between two considerations: (1) beneficiality
(presenting the most advantageous image possible) and (2) believability (making sure the image you
present is believable).

1. The Role of Accountability

Several factors influence the believability of a self-presentational claim. These factors include
the acting ability of the self-presenter (highly skilled actors can make more self-aggrandizing
claims) and the ambiguity of the performance domain (the more ambiguous the domain, the
more self-aggrandizing a person can be). Accountability is another important factor. People are
accountable when their claims can be checked against relevant facts. It is one thing to boast
that you are an expert at chess if no one is around to challenge you to a game; it’s quite another
if there is a chess board handy and another person waiting to test your claims. The broader
point is that people’s self-presentational claims should be more truthful when audiences are able
to assess the veracity of these proclamations.

III. Self-Presentations and Private Self-Conceptions.

People are audiences for their own behavior. Just as our behavior might convince others that we possess
a given quality or attribute, so, too, might we convince ourselves.

A. Role Internalization
Everyone is always and everywhere, more or less consciously, playing a role. . . . It is in these
roles that we know each other; it is in these roles that we know ourselves. (Park, 1926, p.137)

We all play many roles in social life. We are children, siblings, and parents; students, friends,
and employees; and so on. These roles figure prominently in the way people think about
themselves. When asked to describe themselves, people often respond with reference to the social
roles they play (e.g., I am a professor, a father, a husband). This tendency to define ourselves in
terms of our social roles is not the only link between social roles and self-conceptions, however.
Each role we play carries with it a set of behavioral expectations (e.g., judges are expected to
uphold the law) and assumptions about personal characteristics (firefighters are expected to be
brave). These personal characteristics are of concern here. In the course of playing social roles,
people often come to internalize role-relevant personal characteristics. They come to see
themselves as possessing the qualities suggested by the roles they play. People thrust into new
social roles often come to view themselves as having the very qualities that the role demands. In
effect, by playing the role, they become the part. This does not mean, however, that individuals
passively adopt the labels implied by their social roles. Although the expectations of some roles
 are rigid and unyielding, most are pliant and allow room for interpretation. This allows people to
bring their own distinctive stamp to the roles they play.

B. Carry-Over Effects in Self-Presentation

Further evidence that public behavior alters private self-conceptions comes from experimental
research on carry-over effects in self-presentation. In these studies, participants are asked to
present themselves in specified ways to an audience. For example, some participants might be
asked to convince an interviewer that they are extraverted and sociable; other participants are
asked to convince an interviewer that they are introverted and reserved. Later, as part of an
ostensibly unrelated investigation, participants are asked to evaluate themselves along this
dimension. The typical finding is that self-presentational behavior carries over to affect private
self-conceptions. People who present themselves to others as outgoing and gregarious
subsequently regard themselves as more sociable than do those who present themselves to others
as shy and retiring.

IV. Self-Presentation and Social Behavior

Sincerity and Authenticity versus Pretense and Deceit

It is obvious that people sometimes misrepresent themselves (and some people do this more than
others). But how prevalent is this dissimulation? Do the faces people wear in public generally
mask how they privately see themselves, or is pretense and deceit the exception rather than the
rule?
Accountability is one relevant factor. Individuals who present an insincere or inauthentic
impression to others run the risk of being exposed as a fake or liar if their attempts to create a
false impression are discovered. Being regarded as a fake is not a valued identity. Consequently,
this concern keeps people’s self- presentations in line with their private self-views.

The need for social validation is another factor that yields convergence between public behavior
and private beliefs. People generally believe positive things about themselves (e.g., that they are
intelligent, kind, and generous), and they want others to think they possess these qualities as
well. Often, their public behavior is in service of this goal. They actively strive to bring their (self-
perceived) positive qualities to the attention of others. For both of these reasons, then, it may
generally be the case that “appearances made in the world are not veils but guides to the
authentic self of the wearer”.

Obsessive Selfie-Taking

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a selfie is a “photograph that one has taken of
oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.” From a
psychological perspective, the taking of selfies is a self-oriented action that allows users to establish their
individuality and self-importance; it is also associated with personality traits such as narcissism.

However, selfie-taking is more than just the taking of a photograph. It can include the editing of
the color and contrast, the changing of backgrounds, and the addition of other effects before uploading.
These added options and the use of integrative editing have further popularized selfie-taking behavior,
particularly among teenagers and young adults.

On March 31, 2014, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) had classed “selfitis” as a new
mental disorder. The organization had defined selfitis as “the obsessive compulsive desire to take photos
of one’s self and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a
gap in intimacy."

The six components of selfitis were:

1. environmental enhancement (taking selfies in specific locations to feel good and show off to
others),
2. social competition (taking selfies to get more ‘likes’ on social media),
3. attention-seeking (taking selfies to gain attention from others),
4. mood modification (taking selfies to feel better),
5. self-confidence(taking selfies to feel more positive about oneself), and
6. subjective conformity (taking selfies to fit in with one’s social group and peers).

Chronic selfitis were more likely to be motivated to take selfies due to attention-seeking, environmental
enhancement and social competition. People with chronic levels of selfitis are seeking to fit in with those
around them, and may display symptoms similar to other potentially addictive behaviors.

SETTING BOUNDARIES TO YOUR ONLINE SELF

 Control the amount of information that you share. You control the impressions made in the social
media.
 Be ethical in your posts. Do not malign, degrade, and spread malicious comments in social
media. Remember, that everything that you post is becomes a public declaration of yourself.
 Have a sense of propriety.
 Cyberbullying is a crime.
 Do not be gullible. Know how to discern what is “fake news” and what is not.
 Have a life outside social media.