Lesson 13: Digital Self

In this era, the self-adapts to the environment that is dominated by the digital technology. To satisfy
individual dreams and desires outside one’s inner self, things, products or services allow people to believe
that they can change, enhance, or improve their self. And so, if someone wants to be a celebrity, it is easy
to get a picture of a celebrity and use it as his or her profile picture. If one wishes to be in his or her most
desirable place, it is easy to photo shop the picture to make it appear that he or she is in a particular place
even if he or she has never been there before. One’s digital self consists of how one expresses himself or
herself in various online platforms.
The advent of technology comes with a corresponding challenge: to ensure that technology is used
properly. This is the essence of digital citizenship, which refers to the norms of appropriate and responsible
behaviour towards technology use. Digital citizenship is anchored in 3 general principles: respecting,
educating, and protecting oneself and others. Digital citizenship serves the purpose or regulating human
behaviour in a highly-technological and digital world. A major concern of living in the digital era is how
technology shapes one’s sense of self and identity. One concept that is related to the concept of the digital
self is online disinhibition. It is defined as the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in
comparison to communicating in person.
Some individuals lose their inhibition in social interactions because there is an aspect of being
present only in the virtual, a sort of anonymity. Anonymity may serve as an option for individuals who are
naturally shy and introverted to express their thoughts, without threat to their self-esteem. Nowadays,
however, people are more inclined to show their own personalities via online channels. The internet
becomes a multi-media venue for showcasing personal traits, qualities, and even experiences. The values
and beliefs he/she upholds are also expressed in his/her online behavior. Thus, technology, through the
development of virtual spaces and communities accessible through the internet, can be a basis of evaluating
the consistency of the self.
The permeating nature of technology has also influenced various technological and online
behaviors people manifest. Within the concept of digital citizenship, there are 9 themes that cover these
behaviors:
 The themes listed above emphasize the proliferation of technology in the world and how they are
used for specific purposes. Suffice it to say, technology is here to stay. There is a need to adapt to the
dynamic changes that technology entails. Technology offers limitless opportunities; its presence is
inevitable. However, technology need not control the society and people’s lives. An individual must define
himself/herself based solely on his/her terms.

Why do we have Digital Self?

The idea of the Digital Self is an interesting and relatively new topic discussed in consumer behaviour
research. Researchers, such as Stone (1996) and Hemetsburger (2005) claim that the digital web allows us
to try out different personas that differ from our real life identities. But why would we want to even do
this? We were especially interested in looking at why we express ourselves online the way we do and we
wanted to share the most common reasons:
1. We want to meet the expectation of others
2. We want to boost our self-esteem
3. To feel a sense of belonging
4. Bigger sense of freedom
5. Striving to be our ideal selves
In conclusion, the digital world has provided us with greater opportunities to express our identity
in any form we want to. But what we all need to remember is: how will we feel if we go so far to express
ourselves differently online that we forget what reality is, or worse, we end up resenting it?

What not to Post Online

Below are some of the information, activities, thoughts, opinions, and feelings that must be kept
private or personal from the cyberspace.
1. Sexy or revealing pictures
2. Pictures of videos sowing private moments with love ones
3. Pictures or videos showing bad habits
4. Negative comments on another person’s attitudes
5. Posts announcing conflicts with other people
6. Posts of the results of a particular competition with the names of defeated person
7. Comments showing strong opposition to certain issues
8. Comments with foul, vulgar, indecent, and offensive words
9. Pictures or videos revealing one’s financial status
10. Pictures or videos showing family trips
11. Pictures or videos displaying one good deeds
12. Pictures or videos in hospitals
13. Posts of every single thing you do
What not to Post Online

With the rampant use of the internet, specifically social media, there are issues that need to be
recognized and thus be addressed. Here are some of the issues that one needs to address if one wants to be
seen as a responsible netizen.
1. Sharing Fake News
As a famous saying goes, “Think before you click.” Lately, social media has been teeming
with fake news—malicious content that tends to speak ill of certain people or issues. Many people
on social media share fake news because they fail to verify the truthfulness of such online articles.

2. Cyberbullying
People bully other people online because they feel that they can do so as online interaction
is different from face-to-face or personal interaction. They can hide themselves through their
screens which make them feel capable of hurting other people. One form of cyberbullying is
bashing which can damage to an individual’s psychological well-being.

3. Sharing viruses
Some social media users share the viruses for fun. Usually, these viruses present
themselves as pornographic content which makes users interested in opening such as malicious
links. This is an example of inappropriate behavior online for its aim, which may appear direct or
not, is to damage one’s reputation online.