Republic of the Philippines

Camarines Norte School of Law

COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

The Digital Self

Lesson 11

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Discuss about online identity and their ‘self’ in cyberspace and user id
2. Expound selective self-presentation and impression management
3. Evaluate the impact of online interactions on the self
4. Establish boundaries of the online self: private vs. public, personal vs. social identity
online, gender and sexuality online.
Discussion:

The Internet-Dependent World

How many people use the internet?
As of January 2021 there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide - 59.5 percent of
the global population.
Of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion) accessed the internet via mobile devices.
◇ By now, a world without the internet is unimaginable. Connecting billions of people
worldwide, the internet is a core pillar of the modern information society.
◇ As of 2020, Asia was the region with the largest number of online users – over 2.5 billion at
the latest count. Europe was ranked second with almost 728 million internet users.

I, Me, Myself and My User ID Online Identity

Key Concepts:
Personal Identity - the interpersonal level of self which differentiates the individual as unique from
others
Social Identity - the level of self whereby the individual is identified by his or her group
memberships
Online Identity
- using the internet, it is the sum of your characteristics and interactions represented
- results from different interactions with each website visited, showing a different picture of
who you are and what you do.
- It is the sum of your characteristics and interactions.
- Not the same as your real-world identity because the characteristics you represent online
differ from the characteristics you represent in the physical world

How do you build your Online Identity?

- Every website that you interact with will collect its own version of who you are, based on
the information that you have shared.
- Thus, it is up to you how you will represent yourself as closely as who you are and what
you do in real life or selectively, to create a representation far from your real life.
 People act differently online and offline.
 People are able to present themselves online anyway that they want to.
 Even ifyou admit it or not, we all have a digital self—a mask that we put on to engage the
technological world.
 Physician and Psychoanalyst, Donald Winnicot, proposed a theory of self that posited there
was a "true self" that is the core of our personality and must be nurtured and realized.
 Then there is the "false self" that is created to protect the "true self" from insult and
danger.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

 We all have a "true self" that is complex and fragile, but ultimately, is our essence.
 In an attempt to share that self with the world, we engage our decoy selves to manage the
day-to-day anxieties and challenges that come before us.

ELEMENTS OF THE DIGITAL SELF

◇ It can and does include everything you say and do under your own name.

ONLINE BEHAVIOR
◇ People assume that your online actions are representative of the way you are in person.

ONLINE PRESENTATION
◇ The images you choose to put online, the words and styles you choose also say a lot.

ONLINE VOICE
◇ What do you say? Are you controversial, argumentative, or inappropriate?
◇ Do you add value to conversations?

SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Our behaviors can change if we notice that we are being watched or observed.
We select only what we want to present and impress to others, what we view beneficial to our
personality, especially when we create a digital self

Impression Management – the attempt to control or influence other people’s perceptions

towards us
instrumental - To gain rewards and increase self-esteem
expressive - To be in control of one’s own behavior and identity and to show off one’s
uniqueness

Two Types of Self-Presentation

1. Pleasing the audience – This type of self-presentation which try to match self to the
audience's expectations and preferences.
2. Self-construction – This type of self-presentation tries to match oneself to one's own
ideal self. The expression of the audience-pleasing motive varies across situations.

Catharsis – “talking cure”, we might see the self-care of blogging and engaging in social media and
forum conversations as form of self- therapy by talking things thru.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) - the feelings of vulnerability that leads the user to compulsively
check the news feeds and continually adding tweets and postings in order to appear active and
interesting.
Disinhibition Effect - is part of the reason for so much sharing and disclosure online. The lack of
face-to-face gaze meeting, together with the feelings of anonymity and invisibility, seems to free us
up to self-disclose but also to sometimes “flame” others
(toxic disinhibition).

SELF-PROMOTION
Actively saying things or taking action to show one’s competence
INGRATIATION
Actively saying things or taking action to win the approval or acceptance of others
EXEMPLIFICATION
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

Involves a strategic self- sacrifice so that others may recognize dedication

INTIMIDATION
Showing off authority, power, or the potential to punish in order to be seen as dangerous or
powerful
SUPPLICATION
Exploiting one’s weakness and shortcomings to receive help or benefits

IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS ON THE SELF

 Online interaction does not require cognitive or emotional involvement, making our
interaction with it much easier
 Interaction with human partners requires more emotional involvement, and thus more
cognitive effort, than Interacting
The extra effort involved in face-to-face interactions can be spared in online interactions that
are founded on minimal or constrained social cues; most of these signals can be summed up
in emoticons or punctuation. Hence, it is easier to hide our emotions behind an email, a
Facebook post or a tweet.
 We can control our self-presentations on online interactions and this may be both
beneficial and harmful to the individual
Compared with face-to-face presentations, online interactions enable us to self-censor to a
greater extent and manage our online identities more strategically which provides greater
opportunity to misinterpret ourselves. This is due to asynchronous communication (time-
delayed interaction that does not require participants to be online simultaneously).
Is it true that Facebook provides opportunities for increased identity development?
Research suggests that young users report increased self-esteem and general wellbeing
following instances of positive feedback on social networking sites (Valkerburg, Peter, &
Schouten, 2006)
College students indicated that the heaviest Facebook users were also most satisfied with
their lives and exhibited greater social and political engagement (Valenzuela, Park, &
Kee,2009)

POSITIVE
◇ Social media sites inform and empower individuals to change themselves and their
communities
◇ Increased self-esteem when receiving many likes and shares
◇ Boost ones moral and feelings of self- worth

NEGATIVE
◇ Extensive online engagement is correlated with personality and brain disorders (like poor
social skills, ADHD, narcissistic tendencies, a need for instant gratification, and addictive
behaviors and other emotional distress like depression, anxiety, and loneliness.)
◇ Low self-esteem due to the risk of being exposed to cyber bullying and cyberpornography.
◇ More occupied in giving attention to social media than in keeping their customs and
practices.

EXTENDED SELF IN DIGITALWORLD

Belk’s (1988) formulation of the EXTENDED SELF is an influential conceptualization of
the relation between people and possessions. The updated conceptualization adds brand attachments
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

and virtual possessions to the original specification of possession and person attachments as the
foundation for self-extension.
Self-Revelation - The sharing of information about self online facilitated by the disinhibition and
confessional effects means that it is now far easier to present ourselves in ways that would have
been awkward at best in predigital times.

Loss of Control - The individual user caters a greater public audience, once a status is updated or a
photo is posted, it becomes readily accessible to the viewing public and the owner of such
information somehow loses control over the information.
Shared Digital Possessions And Aggregate Self - When things are jointly owned, they are also
likely to be more relevant to the aggregate level of self encompassing those with whom they are
shared. In the digital realm, however, we are part of imagined communities whose members may
not be personally known aside from their pseudonyms and online contributions.
FOMO or Fear of Missing Out- Lack of privacy in many aspects of social media can leave the
users feeling vulnerable, leading to compulsively checking news feeds and continually adding tweets
and posting in order to appear active and interesting.
Disinhibition Effect - Part of the reason for so much sharing and self disclosure online (Ridley 2012;
Suler 2004).
Toxic Disinhibition - The lack of face-to-face gaze-meeting, together with feelings of anonymity
and invisibility, free us up to self-disclose but also to sometimes "flame" others.

True self" -aren't fix or that the self is anything other than a work in progress but "self revelation" can
be therapeutic with the aid of self-reflexive application.
"The talking cure"-engaging in social media and forum conversation as a form of self-therapy by
talking things through.

Foucault's View
In Foucault's (1978, 1996) view, confessing our secret truths feels freeing, even as it binds us
in a guilt-motivated self-governance, St. Augustine & Jean-Jacques Rousseau, help to
reinforce this imperative for self-confession in an earlier era, just as others' online diaries and
blogs do today. But the internet has made once private confessions far more public.
"Technologies of the Self" through which we seek to purge and cleanse ourselves.
Exomologesis or "Publishing Oneself" has never been easier to accomplish. Despite the
tension between privacy and potential celebrity, our online confession are also part of the
"self-therapeutic" aspect of sharing.

Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Self Revelation

There is not only an inward turn in self-consciously crafting our autobiographies (Zhao 2005),
there is also an outward turn in terms of presenting these self-display for all the world to see.
"Ego Searching" for information about themselves.
Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Loss of Control
What was once private is now more likely to be public
We may exercise self-control but it is far harder to control all out digital self-representation.
Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Shared Digital Possessions and Aggregate Self
In digital realm, we are part of imagined communities whose members may not be personally
known aside from their pseudonyms and online contributions (Born 2011).
•Pirated Music - a case in point of file sharers who jointly assemble and
share ownership of a set of musical files.
•Create feelings of group identity.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

•Joint Identity is also found in open-sources software collaboration like Linux.

•eBay- effectively giant shopping arcade used to incite consumers desires
in a way that merges the virtual with the real.
•"Third Places" is a place that is neither the first place of home nor the second place of
work, but at which people hang out, enjoy themselves, and feel accepted.
(such as: pubs, cafe's, and coffee shops) Where "regulars" get to know, accept, and support
one another.
Based on careful analysis of Oldenburg's (1999) criteria for third place conclude that it is a
place where participants can be "themselves."

GENDER & SEXUALITY ONLINE

According to Marwick (2013) while the terms "sex", "gender ", and "sexuality" are often
thought of as synonymous, they are actually quite distinct.
Sex - biological state that corresponds to what we might call a "man" or "woman".
While "sex" is often explained as biological, fixed, and immutable, it is actually socially
constructed (West & Zimmerman, 1987).

Gender Inequality
-Heteronormativity is the presumption of heterosexuality unless explicitly stated.
-Valuing some experience as normal or natural, while stigmatizing others as pathological or
deviant.
•Technology has been critized for this male normativity due to disproportionate number of
men and women involve in technical design and engineering.
Normative Gender Behavior - adheres to the dominant understanding of masculine
men and feminine women.
Non-normative behavior - does not follow this norms.
•Sexuality - is an individual expression and understanding of desire.
-While, like gender, this is often viewed as binary (homosexual or heterosexual)
-in reality, sexuality often experienced as fluid.
•"Queer" can be used as an umbrella term for non-normative expressions of sexuality.
-Originally meaning "strange" or "peculiar"
-decidedly not the same as "gay or lesbian"
-rejects the binary approach to make/female or gay/straight identity.

PERFORMING GENDER ONLINE

Judith Butler
-gender as performance.
-gender & sexuality came to be through discourse and social processes.
Anything that you do to express your gender which is not innate but is the result of human
cultural ideas of gender - you are "performing" your gender.
Almost all gender expression is performed. That is to say, almost every way in which you
communicate your gender to others around you is a culturally determined performance of
gender rather than an innate biological expression.
-gender was performative rather than something that comes naturally to men and
women. (Like how we present ourselves. How we wear clothes)
These performances that adhere to normative understanding of gender and sexuality are
sanctioned, while those that do not are admonished. (A boy throwing like a girl)
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

Sandy Stone and other queer theorists were fascinated by the idea of Online Spaces that
create Online Identity wherein users can actively choose which gender or sexuality to "be"
(online games, chat rooms, and any other online sites that required gender)

Donna Haraway's
"A Manifesto for Cyborgs"
-a new way of being and thinking about oneself that incorporated both "nature" &
"technology".
Cyborg Feminism argued that " technoscience" was potentially liberating for women.
-contemporary technology, particularly the internet, could be a space for organizing,
theorizing, sharing experiences and understanding oneself with tremendous potential for
women.
"Masculine" or "Feminine" is reinforced appropriately hewing to a gender norm.
This happen both online, and off. This is due to a variety of factors, including the
mainstreaming a "real" online identity, and the structural nature of sexism.
Grindr - a locative app for gay men.
Social Shopping sites like Polyvore & Pinterest which are targeted at teenage girls and 20
something women.
Social media sites like Twitter & YouTube have purportedly led to the emergence of a "free
culture" where individuals are empowered.
Sexist Troops - the meme "Tits or GTFO (Get the F*** out) originated in a forum called
4chan which is both crude and influential.

•Men and Women tend to blog different topic (Men for technology & politics while women
for food, fashion, and parenting)
-although the technology are the same, the norms and mores of the people using them differ.
-suggest that gender us experienced differently both on and within different social media
sites.

"Blogging" was just a new term for online "journaling" & "diarying" activities that girls and
women had been participating in for a decade.

Setting Boundaries to your Online Self: Smart Shaming

Before posting or sharing anything online, we should consider the following questions.
•Is this post/story necessary?
•Is there a real benefit to this post?
•Have we resolved this issue?
•Is it appropriate?
•Will this seem as funny in 5, 10, or 15 years?

ARE YOU A GOOD WEB CITIZEN?

Are you?
•Online anonymity sometimes allows people to push limits and act in ways they would not
act.
•Cruelty, harassment, and bullying are closely tied with questions of online identity -
like how we choose to express ourselves, how we establish positive community norms, and
how we stand up against behavior that's offensive, demeaning, and upsetting.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

RULES TO FOLLOW
Guidelines for proper sharing of information and using the internet.
(Your Online Identity 2014)
-Stick to safer sites
-Guard your passwords
-Limit what you share
-Remember that anything you put online is there forever,
even if you tried to delete it.
-Do not be mean or embarrass other people online
-Always tell if you see strange or bad online behavior
-Be choosy about your online friends
-Be patient.

Evaluation
Answer the following questions: (see assessment 10 attached)

References:

Alata, Eden Joy, et. al. 2021. A Course Module for Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex Bookstore
Inc.
Alata, Eden Joy, et. al. 2018. Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex Bookstore Inc.