MODULE 7: UNPACKING THE SELF

Topic 1: The Political Self

Topic 2: The Digital Self

Topic 1 & 2 : The Political and Digital Selves

Learning Outcomes : At the end of the learning module, the students are xpected to:
(28.) discuss about online identity and their “self” in cyberspace and user
id; (29.) evaluate the impact of online interactions on the self;
(30.) take pride of the Filipino identifying values and traits;

Reference(s) : Otig V.S., Gallinero, W. B., Bataga, N. U., Salado, F. B.

(2018). A holistic approach in understanding The Self. Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.Villafuerte, S. L., Quillope, Al F.,Tunac,
R.C., & Borja, E.I. (2018). Understanding the self. Nieme
Publishing House Co. Ltd.

Concept/Digest : ( Read and study the concept, you can even add more
information. Just search in the Google Website for each topic)

Have you ever asked yourself what is truly a Filipino identity? Imagine yourself a moment when you are
the only Filipino from different nationalities. Will you be proud of speaking about all the beautiful things about
your country and of being a Filipino? Truly, we have a lot to be proud of. Take the pride of being able to live in
this country Philippines. On the other hand, we have to recognize particularly nowadays that we are living in a
digital age, we have interactions involving technology- cellular phones, computers and other gadgets thus, we
build our DIGITAL self. In this module we are going to journey and appreciate our nationality as Filipino as well
as discover the process on how online identity is established as experience by all people in today’s pandemic.

ACTIVITY Focus activity: “ Pinoy Selfie”

Instructions:

1. Paste on this part your most beautiful and meaningful selfie.

2. Each one must take a pose in a historical monuments of significant men and women of the country,
landmarks or unique architectures in the Philippines.
3. Just be creative in posting the props and any available materials to be included in the selfie.

Rubric for rating the activity:

Scenic background and landscape......................................15 pts.
Historical figures, heroes, famous individuals…...............15 pts.
Artifacts, memorabilia work of art, inventions, etc...........10 pts
Emotions, facial expressions…..........................................5pts
Quality and unity of the selfie photo….............................. 5pts

Total....................................................................................50 pts
 ANALYSIS

1. What are the elements, figures and essential features that you had included in your selfie as a typical
Filipino? Who are the significant personalities? How did you decide what will be included in the selfie?
2. What are your feelings while making your selfie?
3. What are your insights about the activity?

Instructions: Present your answers in bullet forms.

ABSTRACTION

 Strengths of the Filipino Character:

a. Pakikipagkapwa-tao like openness, helpfulness and generosity, bayanihan or mutual assistance and
hospitality(licuanan, 1994). Genuine love for family. The love for the grandparents, aunts, uncles and
cousins- even very distant relatives.
b. Strong family orientation gives the Filipino the sense of belonging and security.
c. Filipinos are also cheerful and fun-loving like celebrating fiestas and social gatherings which
demonstrate the joy and humor. We can laugh at those we love and hate and even make jokes about our
good or bad fortune. Even in our struggles and most trying times, Filipinos always find a reason to
smile or laugh.
d. Filipinos are flexible and easily adapt/adjust to any difficult situations. To overcome life’s
challenges and work hard to thrive in various parts of the world.
e. The value of hard work and industry like the willingness to take risks and work in other countries for
the love of family and desire to provide the comforts of life.
f. Value of faith and religiosity, this can be related to our bahala na mindset- serve as a “kickstarter “or
“pampalakas loob” to move him/her into action (Gripaldo, 2005).
g. The ability to survive depicts our survival instinct. We can endure, make do and get by on so
little while looking forward to the coming of better days.
 Weaknesses of the Filipino Character:
a. Extreme personalism- this leads to the prevalence of graft and corruption in the country
b. Extreme family-centeredness- family is valued above anything and everyone else. This is manifested
in our political system where political dynasties lord over our elected government posts starting from
the barangay to the national positions.
c. Lack of discipline- the “ningas cogon” attitude of Filipinos, project an image with full of enthusiasm
and interest at the start of the journey but, it will not sustain because it will die down.
d. Passivity and lack of initiatives- rely all solutions of the problems to the leaders ability/capacity to
find ways while members do not feel the need to initiate or contribute to the solution.
e. Colonial mentality- this is connected to the general feelings of inferiority where we think that
foreigners are superior and more fortunate than us.
f. Kanya-kanya syndrome- the crab-mentality, where we tend to pull others down to climb up.
g. Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection- this relate to Filipinos are “madaling makalimot”, we forget
the mistakes we have made thus, we make the same mistakes again. One reason why traditional
politicians or “trapos” are always reelected into office.
 Digital Self- is oriented inward toward the world of thoughts and feelings because others cannot see the
online user’s overt attributes. Online users will only come to know the person primarily through what that
person tells them. People able to present themselves on line in the manner that they want to. This is called
self-presentation.
 The basic kinds of people you interact with online are:
1. People you do not know at all
2. People you know both online and offline; and
3. People you know only online.
 Why do people engage in self-presentation?
- Helps facilitate social interaction
- Enables individuals to attain material and social rewards
- Helps people privately construct desired identities
 Generally, social media platforms are used for:
- Social browsing
- Social searching
- Communication
- Impression management
 Impression management- it is the attempt to control or influence any other people’s perceptions. This
may be: Instrumental- this motive is to basically gain rewards and increase one’s self-esteem.
Expressive- this is about attempting to be in control of one’s personal behavior and identity. It is
a response to moral norms, expectations or restrictions seeking to show others that
he/she as a person, is different.
 Impression-management strategies:
a. Self-Promotion- is a proactive process in which a person actively says things or takes action to show
his/her competence to an audience.
b. Ingratiation- the process by which someone tries to win the approval or acceptance of another.
c. Exemplification- involves a strategic self-sacrifice so that observers may recognize the dedication. An
exemplifier often wants other people to know how hard he/she has been working because of the need to
advertise his/her behavior.
d. Intimidation- a strategy that involves showing off authority, power or the potential to punish in order
to be seen by observers as someone who could be or is dangerous. This is to increase the credibility of
one’s threats and in turn enhance the probability that the target will comply with the demands for
agreement.
e. Supplication- an approach where individual exploits his/her weaknesses or shortcomings to
receive help or benefits.
 Private Vs. Public self
- Private self- refers to mental events in a person that are inherently unobservable by others.
- Public self- are behaviors that are open to the observations of other people.

Private Public
Observable behavior
Phenomenological experience

Acting only for self Acting as agent for others

Actor controls access to information Information about self not controlled by actor
regarding self

Acting in the interest of a limited number of Acting in the interest of the community
people

 Personal (individual) identity- this is the concept you develop about yourself that evolves over the course
of your life. This is the aspects of your life that you have no control over, such as where you grew up or the
color of your skin. It also includes, how you spend your time and what you believe in.
 Characteristics of personal identity: -the emphasis is on the individual
-it is created through differences in personal characteristics when
comparing the self with others
 Social identity- it is a person’s sense of who he/she is based on group membership(s). they asserted that
the groups (s.g., social class, family, basketball team and so on., to which people belonged to were an
important source of pride and self-esteem.
 Characteristics of social identity: - the emphasis is on what the person has in common with the members
of his/her group.
-it is created based on similarities with others
 INTERNET - plays an essential role in shaping our conception of the world, our opinions and our values.
- Children and young people who are in the process of forming their opinions and attitudes
about norms and acceptable behavior and also about sexuality are most susceptible to the
internet’s influence.
- The attitudes, conduct and roles toward women, men and the LGBTQ+I community are strongly
influenced by internet content.
 Stereotype- is a fixed, overgeneralized belief about a particular group or class of people. The use
of stereotypes is a manner in which people simplify the social world.
 APPLICATION

This is a quick survey about the concepts on Digital Self.

1. What are your reasons/purposes for going online?

2. What network site/s do you usually visit and how does that effect your self-perception?

Present your arguments in essay form composing of not less than 10 sentences. (15 points)