Lesson 9: Digital Self

The DIGITAL SELF is the persona we project in the technological

world.

Russell Belk: He asserts that our possessions have great contributions in

and are reflections of our identities.

Digital possessions (photos, videos, statuses, texts, and emails) become

very important in shaping Digital Self which allow people to try various
personas that may differ from real life identities
Famous theorist on explaining
the dimensions of the Digital Self
o Donald Winnicott

§ he proposed the theory of True and False Self

§ True Self involves our instinctive core of our personality that needs to be nurtured, while
the False Self involves people's expectation.

Highlight: Base on this premise, it can be argued that in social media, people can conceal
emptiness or emotions just to show life is interesting. As an example, a person will start
posting in social media things that is more closely resembles his or her ideal self while becoming
more untrue to one’s self, hence, more concrete false self
o Russel Belk

§ He coined the term, the Digital Self and defined it as the persona we project in
the technological world. He also asserted that our possessions have great
contributions in our identity and are reflections of our identities.

§ Digital possessions like photos, videos, statuses, texts, and emails become
very important in shaping Digital Self which allow people to try various personas
that may differ from real life identities.
o Erving Goffman

§ He postulated that an individual’s self can be changed according to the

audience, known as Self-Presentation Theory

· It is a social theory that focuses on the context of human behavior based on the
viewer's impression of the action or behavior.

· He asserts that as social beings, people consciously perform identities for

self-seeking purposes which can be observed by examining online social
interactions
Impression management
§ defined as a conscious or sub-conscious process of
attempting to influence the perception of other people
about a person, object, or event. Today, it can be applied in
the content a person post online to create a certain
impression.
Extension of Self -presentation theory

- Jones and Pittman (1982) offer 5 strategies of impression

management which each strategies is characterized by
specific motivational goals and tactics that need to be
examined
1.Ingratiation
is manifested when one is behaving in ways to
make him/herself likable to others. People who
use this strategy have a high need to be liked by
others. Their goal is to gain affection from others.
2. Self-promotion
is done when one is highlighting his/her
strengths, abilities, or talents in order to be seen
as competent. Others promote themselves to
earn respect and be perceived as having the
expertise in a certain area.
3. Exemplification
can be seen in others when they demonstrate
exemplary behavior in order to boost their
character. Others would sacrifice the own needs
or go beyond the call of duty in order to be seen
dedicated or committed.
4. Intimidation
is seen in people who use physical or
emotional threats to get what they want from
others. They believe that doing this gives a
message to others that they are powerful or
dangerous. This can be seen in others who
threaten, and are angry and authoritative.
5. Supplication is done when a person acts
as weak or dependent in order to get favours
from others. They would publicize their
weaknesses or shortcomings in order to be
seen as dependent or helpless to acquire
some form of resource.
Gender and Sexuality Online
What is sex?
§ It refers to the physical, biological, and chemical
makeup of an individual that relates to the differences
between male and female. It refers to the person's
identity based on their physical characteristics (such as
having a penis/vagina), genes, and hormones.
What is gender?
§ It is the socially constructed characteristics of women and men,
such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between groups of
women and men. Varies from society to society and can be changed.
It does not exist naturally, but is instead a concept that is created by
cultural and societal norms.
What is sexuality?
§ It is about who you are attracted to sexually; capacity
to have an erotic experiences or responses. It may be
experienced and expressed in a variety of ways, such as
thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values,
behaviors, practices, roles, and relationships.
· Sexual Orientation is a sub-category of sexuality,
that deals about a person being homosexual,
heterosexual, or bisexual, or gay, straight or bi, we are
talking about the person's sexual orientation
Setting Boundaries online
● Be Kind
● Think before you click
● Carefully choose your online friends
Thank you!