Buenaseda, Justine Bevan V.

BS Accountancy 1

Unfolding my Digital Self

As we live in an era wherein society is dominated with advancements in technology, we

begin to transform our identities subconsciously as we enter the virtual space. The advent of
technology in digital age has significantly changed our way of socializing, thus giving rise to the
concept of “Digital Self”. Before the internet, people used to personally approach the person they
wish to talk to. But now, with the presence of online messaging applications, we can conveniently
talk to whoever we want, wherever and whenever we want with just a few clicks. By definition,
digital self refers to the persona of an individual when online (Gianni, 2013). Since the cyberspace
continues to grow and evolve over time, assessing our digital self is just as important as assessing
the other aspects of our self (such as social, spiritual, material, political etc.). As someone who is
an avid fan of online video games, I can attest to the fact that the internet has indeed changed me
at some point. I interact with my online friends on a daily basis, and even meet new people as I
team up with other players in the game. In this paper, I seek to explore my self-concept centered
on the context of Digital Self in an attempt to recognize my flaws in order to be able to improve
myself. Baumeister (1999) defines self-concept as “The individual's belief about himself or herself,
including the person's attributes and who and what the self is". In evaluating an individual’s digital
self, we must consider that the internet brings a significant impact to the identity of a person.
Recent studies suggest that people tend to separate themselves from their physical body as they
continue to engage in social media for a prolonged period of time (Kang, 2007; Lievrouw &
Livingstone, 2002). This phenomenon was termed as “disembodiment”. An individual’s identity
online differs to his identity offline to a certain extent.

According to Suler (2004), we tend to express ourselves more openly in virtual spaces
compared to face-to-face interactions – and this is known as online disinhibition. In other words,
people are likely to loosen social restrictions and inhibitions when interacting on the internet. This
phenomenon has its advantages and disadvantages. Due to the absence of restraint, people can
share their thoughts and feelings they could not speak of in real life. For instance, when I’m having
a rough day, I often post a rant on my twitter feed or tell about it with some of my online friends
and that would usually make me feel a little bit better or relieved. Also, the presence of social
media gives me a voice – a chance to express my opinions about relevant matters in our society.
However, online disinhibition also has its downsides. Since there are no social restrictions, online
disinhibition allows people to use hurtful words freely. Without face-to-face confrontation, people
tend to use rude, violent, racist and sexist comments recklessly. For instance, sometimes as I play
video games with my friends, I let my rage get the better of me. I say offensive comments to my
friends that I would soon regret and even talk trash against my opponents.

Online disinhibition is comprised of six factors and these are as follows: dissociative
anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic Introjection, dissociative imagination, and
minimized status and authority (Suler, 2004). Dissociative Anonymity allows people to hide their
identity or create a separation between their real self and their virtual self. In the internet, you can
choose to become unknown by providing false a name and false information. Anonymity allows a
person to engage in harmful behavior online. Also, being unknown makes them feel less vulnerable
about sharing secrets about themselves or disclosing anything that they could never say in face-to-
face interactions in general. Another factor is invisibility in which a user is practically given a
certain type of invisibility because most communications online are done through text/speech and
without the further need of showing your actual appearance. The third factor is asynchronicity
which Munro (2003) refers to as the emotional hit and run. Since what is happening in the internet
does not necessarily happen in real time, we can post anything online such personal, emotional or
even political opinions, leave it there right after you post it, and then go back to it again later. In
other words, you can hide from the harsh feedback of other users in the internet by simply going
offline. The fourth factor is the solipsistic introjection in which people assume traits to the
individuals they interact with online. This factor states that people tend to get angry or become
attracted to the false traits of users online depending on their own perceptions. The fifth factor is
Dissociative Imagination and this refers to the feeling of escapism that can make people think that
they can adopt and shed a certain character by simply logging on and off. Lastly, the Minimized
Status and Authority states that the internet allows people to not be intimidated by the possible
disapproval of authority figures since we cannot physically see and feel them in a virtual space.

The aforementioned factors of online disinhibition tell a lot about how and why I act the
way I do online. I must admit, I can sometimes be careless about saying hurtful things online
because I feel anonymous and invisible. Being unknown gives me the courage to say anything I
want without worrying about the consequences of my action. Moreover, I often fail to recognize
the sense of authority of some people online making me unwillingly disrespect important people I
know. Also, I tend to give high expectations regarding my online friends and soon become
disappointed when I meet them in real life. I learn how to appreciate them soon enough though.
For these reasons, I have realized that my identity online has been less empathetic and thus
arrogant. Perhaps the lack of physical interaction made me disregard the feelings or emotions of
others because I could not see their actual reactions online.

In conclusion, my digital self is highly flawed and is very much different than my identity
in real life. I am not rude nor arrogant in real life as I am in virtual space. Although I have different
personalities online and offline, this does not make one of which less authentic than the other. Both
personalities coexist to make up the entire me. Upon recognizing my mistakes by analyzing the
impact of online disinhibition, I am able to reflect upon what I can possibly do to improve my
identity online. In order to avoid toxic online disinhibition, I should always consider my emotional
state first before sending anything hurtful, offensive or harmful online. Also, I should also think
of how others would feel and react to the things that I intend to say. I should be careful about over-
sharing too much information that would put me or other people in harm’s way. Lastly, I should
bear in mind that whatever is posted in the internet remains in the internet forever thus I should be
ethical and responsible in my posts or messages at all cost. Changing myself for the better will
take a lot of time, effort and devotion and I am ready do everything I can in order to become the
best version of myself.

REFERENCES:

Baumeister, R. F. (1999). Self-concept, self-esteem, and identity. American Psychological

Association.

Gianni, C. (2013). The Digital Self Manifesto. 40K.

Kang, S. (2007). Disembodiment in Online Social Interaction: Impact of Online Chat on

Social Support and Psychosocial Well-Being. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(3), 475–477. doi:
10.1089/cpb.2006.9929
 Slater, D. (2002). Social relationships and identity online and offline. In L. Lievrouw & S.
Livingstone Handbook of new media (pp. 533-546). 55 City Road, London: SAGE Publications,
Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781848608245.n38

Suler, John. (2004). The Online Disinhibition Effect. Cyberpsychology & behavior : the
impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society. 7. 321-6.
10.1089/1094931041291295.