GE2204

UNPACKING THE SPIRITUAL, POLITICAL, AND DIGITAL SELF

A. THE SPIRITUAL SELF

The spiritual self focuses on the beliefs and includes the functions of rituals and ceremonies. One of its
objectives is to appreciate the role of religion in individuals and societies.

Spirituality and Religion

Spiritual means "relating to or affecting the spirit or soul of a person instead of material or physical things."
Religion and spirituality are both ways to reach God, but they do so in different ways. It also has something to
do with God and the supernatural, but it is often personal and doesn't need a formal organization. This is the
search for direction and meaning in life.

The persistent sense of self addresses questions about life's nature, purpose, and meaning. It results in
behaviors that are constant with the individual's core values. A sense of spiritual identity emerges as the
symbolic religious and spiritual content of a culture that individuals appropriate in the context of their own
lives.

Religion often takes the approach of fear, sin, guilt, and the concept of a punishing God – a spiritual approach
to God is through the path of life without condemnation or judgment. It is an organized system of ideas about
the spiritual or supernatural realm, and rituals accompany that. Through rituals, people attempt to influence
things they think are beyond their control.

According to Santrock (2014), religion is an organized set of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols that
increases an individual's connection to a sacred or transcendent other (God, higher power, ultimate truth).

William James (1902-1958) defined personal religion as the "feeling, acts and experiences of individual men in
their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand with whatever they may consider divine.

The two are related – Although not separate from one another, spirituality is much more profound than
religion.

Rituals and Ceremony

• Rituals - religious or solemn ceremonies consist of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
The sequence of activities involves gestures, words, and objects.
• Rites – refers to the spoken words used in rituals to convey meaning and value.
• Ceremony - refers to the movement or gesture expressing feelings or beliefs beyond the limitation of
speech

Magic and Witchcraft

• Magic - the power to influence events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.
• Witchcraft - the practice of magic, especially black magic; the use of spells
• Magician - the one who performs magic like casting spells and summoning spirits
• Sorcerer - translated from the Greek word pharmakos and carries with it the id the idea of medicine,
magic potions, drugs, and poison with the one who is thought to be acquainted with the secrets of the
nonmaterial or unseen world
• Necromancer – the one who 'seeks unto the dead.’ It is a term that includes all forms of attempts to
contact departed spirits.

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• Barang - the Filipino term for a Sorcerer. It is used to describe malignant sorcery or familiar spirits.
• Mambabarang – a person who practices this specific type of sorcery or witchcraft.
• Binarang - the target (usually a person) of the sorcery or witchcraft
• Kulam - the Tagalog word for 'voodoo' or 'witchcraft.' It is one of the most well-known aspects of
Philippine folklore
• Mangkukulam - a person who uses black magic or spells on a victim.
• Albulario/ Mananambal - a Filipino practitioner of traditional medicine; he is also a medicine man who
is also capable of performing sorcery

Most Filipinos, aside from being superstitious people, believe in the mythical creatures of local folklore, which
includes the aswang, manananggal, kapre, duwende, sirena, syokoy, engkanto, sigbin, tikbalang, tiyanak, and
many others. Folklore began when a person experienced an encounter with any of these creatures. He then
relates his scary experience to his family. The story is then passed on to relatives and neighbors until it spreads
widely to the community.

Finding and Creating Meaning in Life

Logotherapy aims to help the person search for the meaning of his existence. It is a term coined by Victor
Frankl (1905-1997), an existential philosopher. 'Logos' is a Greek word that stands for meaning.
1. Someone – special someone, friend, children, and family
2. Deed, Act, or Work – finding fulfillment and being mandated about one's work/deed
3. Suffering – through rumination/contemplation, we get a more profound sense of ourselves and our
experiences.

Three Basic Principles on Discovering Meaning in Life

1. Meaning in life
This principle emphasizes that despite the person's wealth, status, or gender, he should discover
meaning in life events and circumstances.
2. The will to meaning
The meaning that one attaches to experience is not apparent. The meaning varies from person to
person and from situation to situation. It is challenging to discover what the experience means to be
fulfilled.
3. Freedom to will
People are free to make life choices, including how they respond to life events.

People can discover meaning through the values they attach to things connected with their lives. Values can
be:
• Creative - artistic expression or by creating a work doing a deed.
• Experiential - interacting with the social environment, experiencing something, or encountering
someone.
• Attitudinal - the attitude people take toward unavoidable suffering

B. POLITICAL SELF
The political self is the realization that many of our traditional political and economic institutions are deeply
broken and divide people. It looks at how our social and economic situations affect our mental health and
well-being.

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Politics and Political Identity

Kendall (1988)
• Defines politics as a social institution through which power is acquired and exercised by people in the
groups
• It serves as a mechanism by which individuals develop power and understand the proper functioning
of a democracy.
Stevens, Anglin, and Jussim (2015)
• Politics is a central component of their identity.
• Organizes one's beliefs, attitudes, and affiliations and aids the processing of politically relevant
information
• It constitutes knowledge about the Constitution, government, and governance
Ma. Serena Diokno (1997)
• Political self and identity are developed through socialization, through how people learn the
knowledge, norms, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their positions in a group or community.
Through social interaction, people know the status, duties, rights, and power necessary to interact
successfully with other people in the group and community
• The political self is influenced and modified by the opinions, comments, and suggestions of other
people

Filipino
 Traits
Respectandfor
Values
Elders
➢ The Filipino Hospitality
Welcome their guests and tourists as if they were their brothers and sisters. They always make their guests
feel at home by giving them something to eat or a place to stay.
➢ Respect for Elders
Filipinos greet their elders by kissing their hands while saying "Mano po" and constantly using "po" and
"opo" in conversations.
➢ Close Family Ties
Filipinos stay close to their families even when their children are old enough to have their own families.
➢ Cheerful Personality
People from the Philippines tend to smile and laugh a lot. Many Filipinos have found that smiling helps
them get through hard times and disasters.
➢ Self–Sacrifice
Filipinos' willingness to give up their own needs can be seen as an extension of their hospitality.
➢ Bayanihan
Bayanihan is the Filipino spirit of working together as a group. It's also about giving without expecting
anything in return.
➢ “Bahala na” Attitude
It's the Filipino version of "Hakuna Matata," which means "no worries." People say that the phrase came
from "bathala na," where "bathala" means "God."
➢ Colonial Mentality
It is considered a lack of patriotism and attitude when Filipinos prefer foreign products over their own.
This includes the desire to look more foreign than local and keep up with foreign beauty trends.
➢ Mañana Habit
It was derived from a longer Filipino phrase called "Mamaya na," which means doing things that could
have been done earlier.

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➢ Ningas-Kugon
Refers to the attitude of eagerly starting things but quickly losing eagerness after encountering difficulty,
similar to how quickly a Cogon grass fire burns out moments after being ignited.
➢ Pride
Most Filipinos cherish their pride as if it were more valuable than maintaining good relationships with
family and loved ones. When two parties are at odds, it is difficult to apologize and wait until the other
party requests an apology.
➢ Crab Mentality
It is the more toxic trait of Filipinos; they ruin each other reputations and pull each other down
➢ Filipino Time
Filipinos have this typical attitude of arriving late at commitments.

C. DIGITAL SELF
The digital self is the persona you use when you are online. Some people have one or more online identities
separate from their real-world selves. Others have a single online self that is the same as their real-world
selves.

The Self in the Digital World

➢ Digital Native
A digital native is born after the widespread use of digital technology. The term refers to people who have
grown up using technology like the Internet, computers, and mobile devices. Exposure to technology in
the early years of their life gives them more confidence, comfort, familiarity, and understanding of
technology use than older people.
➢ User Identification
A user ID is a username or username that identifies a person to a computer system or network. During the
login process, a user typically enters both a user ID and a password as an authentication mechanism.
➢ Digital Identity (DI)
Digital identity is any personal data online that can be traced back to the real you, for example, uploaded
photos to social media, your posts or comments online, your online bank account, search engine history,
etc.
➢ Digital Footprint
Digital footprint or digital shadow refers to one's unique set of traceable digital activities, actions,
contributions, and communications on the Internet or digital devices.
➢ Digital Citizenship
Digital citizenship refers to using technology appropriately and responsibly. It covers digital literacy, ethics,
etiquette, online safety, norms, rights, culture, etc. Digital citizens act properly and ethically in an online
environment. They show intelligent technology behavior, and they make good choices in using technology.
They can resolve conflicts, source material ethically, and interact responsibly and respectfully with other
netizens.
➢ Digital Literacy
Digital literacy involves a particular set of competencies that allow a person to function and participate
fully in a digital world. It refers to navigating, understanding, communicating, evaluating, and creating
using several digital technologies such as smartphones, laptops, or computers.
➢ Digital Learning
Digital learning is any learning through technology across all curriculum learning areas.

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SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Self-Presentation
This controls how other people see you, which is the key to starting and growing relationships. People carefully
choose what information they share about themselves and how they share it based on what other people say.
People try to change how others see a person, thing, or event by regulating and controlling information in
social interactions. This can be done consciously or unconsciously.

Anything posted online, we should consider "PUBLIC" no matter our "PRIVACY" settings. This behavior
attempts to convey information about oneself or some image of oneself to others. These behaviors are
activated by the evaluative presence of other people & by others' knowledge of one's behavior.

TWO TYPES OF SELF-PRESENTATION

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

Fear of Missing out

The lack of privacy in many aspects of social media makes users more vulnerable, leading to compulsively
checking newsfeeds and continually adding tweets and postings to appear active and exciting.
Disinhibition Effect
One of the reasons for so much sharing and self-disclosure online is the so-called "disinhibition effect." The
resulting disinhibition causes people to believe they can express their "true self" better online than they ever
could in face-to-face contexts.
• Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Self Revelation
• The sharing of information about self online, facilitated by disinhibition and confessional effects,
means that it is now far easier to present ourselves in ways that would have been awkward and best
in pre-digital times.
• Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Loss of Control
• Because of others' sharing, contemporary self-management processes are not entirely under our
control. What was once private is now more likely to be public. It is harder to control all our digital
self-representations when others may re-share with the unintended audience.
• Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: 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.
• Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Shared Sense of (Cyber) Space
• The overlap between digital aggregated extended self among those seeking access rather than
ownership is apparent when we consider cyberspace as a public place occupied by a partially rotating
set of participants.

ARE YOU A GOOD WEB CITIZEN?

Online anonymity sometimes allows people to push limits and act in ways they would not. As a result, people,
especially teenagers, report that it's a cruel, cruel online world.

RULES TO FOLLOW
1. Stick to safer sites
2. Guard your passwords

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3. Limit what you share

4. Remember that anything you post online on a site is there forever, even if you try to delete it.
5. Do not be mean or embarrass people online.
6. Always tell someone if you see strange or bad behavior online.
7. Be choosy about your online friends.
8. Be patient

References:
Alata, E. J., Cabrera, R., Pawilen, R. (2021). Understanding the self. Rex Bookstore.
Alata, E. J., Casib, B., Serafica, J. P., Pawilen, R. (2018). Understanding the self (A course module). Rex
Bookstore.
Banaag, L. & Cruz, M. (2016). Socio-Anthro: An Integrated and Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of
Society, Culture and Politics. Mandaluyong: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.
Bataraet. al., (2018). Understanding the Self: The Journey towards a Holistic Me. Verbum Books
Cruz, B. (2018). Understanding the self. Sto. Nino, Paranaque City. JTCA Publishing.
Kanagawa, C., Cross, S. Markus, HR. (2001). "Who Am I?" The Cultural Psychology of the conceptual Self. Sage
Publication. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Kemp, S. (2022, October 20). The global state of digital in October 2022 - DataReportal – Global Digital insights.
DataReportal. Retrieved from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-october-global-statshot
SafeSpace. (2020, November). How can I be a good netizen? SafeSpace. Retrieved from
https://safespace.qa/en/topic/how-can-i-be-good-netizen

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