THE DIGITAL SELF:SELF AND

OTHER IN CYBERSPACE
Key Concepts:

I. I, Me, myself and my user ID online identity

 Personal Identity
o the interpersonal level of self which differentiates the
individual as unique from others
 Social Identity
o the level of self whereby the individual is identified by his
or her group memberships
 Online Identity
o Using the internet, it is the sum of your characteristics and
interactions represented.
o Results from different interactions with each website
visited, showing a different picture of who you are and
what you do.
 “online identity”

DIGITAL AGE
*technology (cellular phones,
computers and other gadgets)
 Online Identity and ‘SELF’ in
CYBERSPACE: (I,Me, Myself, and My User
ID Online Identity)
Online Identity 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
“Online, most research on identity focused
on self-presentation”

“Social media like social network sites,

blogs, and online personals require users to
self-consciously create virtual depictions of
themselves”
Self presentation through FB
profile or Twitter stream

Identity is also expressed

through interacting with others,
whether over instant messenger
or email.
face-to-face
vs.
online
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.
 2. 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 strategies include:
1. Ingratiation– “behaving in ways to make oneself likable to others”
2. Self-promotion– accenting your strong points in order to earn respect
3. Exemplification– “demonstrating exemplary behaviour in order to boost
your integrity or character
4. Intimidation– using physical or emotional threats to get what you want
from others
5. Supplication– “acting weak or dependent in order to get favours from
others”
6. Negative acknowledgment– admitting your flaws.
How real is your Digital Self?

How close is your online self-

presentation and impression
management to the real you?
 3. 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
through a computer
Is it true that Facebook provides
opportunities for increased identity
development?
YES!
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)
However, online interactions
cannot reveal our true feelings
and can decrease people’s
happiness levels.
We can control our self-
presentations on online
interactions and this may be
both beneficial and harmful to
the individual.
 POSITIVE impact of social media and online
interaction on the self

• Social media sites inform

and empower individuals to
change themselves and their
communities.
• Increase self-esteem when receiving many likes and
shares.

• Boosts one’s moral and feelings of self-worth

 NEGATIVE impact of social media and online interaction on the self

• 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,
depression,anxiety, and loneliness

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

cyberpornography

• More occupied in giving attention to social media than in keeping their

customs and practices.
 POSITIVE impact of social
media and online interaction
on the self
• Social media sites inform
and empower individuals to
change themselves and their
communities.
• Increase self-esteem when
receiving many likes and
shares.
• Boosts one’s moral and
feelings of self-worth
NEGATIVE impact of social media and online
interaction on the self
• 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,
depression,anxiety, and loneliness
• Low self-esteem due to the risk of being
exposed to cyberbullying and
cyberpornography
• More occupied in giving attention to social
media than in keeping their customs and
 4. Extending self in a digital world-Russel
W. Belk
Belk presents five changes emerging from
our current digital self:

1. DEMATERIALIZATION
2. REEMBODIMENT
3. SHARING
4. CO-CONSTRUCTION OF SELF
5. DISTRIBUTED MEMORY
 SEATWORK
Think of some ways (atleast 5) on how you
are going to set boundaries to your online
self. (6 members for each group)

*1/4 yellow paper

*Include the following:
Names (alphabetically arranged)
Code:
Date:
 SETTING BOUNDARIES TO YOUR
ONLINE SELF

• Stick to safer sites

• Guard your passwords
• Be choosy about your online friends
• Remembering that anything you put online or post
on a site is there forever, even if you try to delete
it
• Don’t be mean or embarrass other people online
• Limit what you share
 GROUP WORK

MALES
Name Age Course Most frequently Most frequently Number of hours
&year used social played spent on phones,
media computer game gadget or computers
per day

FEMALES
 Answer the following questions:

1. What is the most common social media

platform and computer game for students?

2. What is the average number of hours spent by

the students online?

3. What insights have you gained from the quick

survey? (At least 3)
Position Paper:

Is Facebook increasing
our self-awareness?

*4/group
*1/4 yellow paper