2.6 The Digital Self

DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY DHVSU LUBAO CAMPUS
Sta Catalina, Lubao, Pampanga

Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines ISO 9001: 2015 E-Mail Address: dhvsulubao@gmail.com
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021 ; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211 QMS-Certified
URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
COURSE MODULE
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (USELF 133)
Topic 11: The Digital Self
Objectives:
After completing the module, the students are expected to:
1. Define online identity;
2. Compare real identity versus online identity;
3. Describe the influence of internet on sexuality and gender; and
4. Discuss the proper way of demonstrating our values and attitudes online.
Duration: 3 hours (OPTIONAL)
Learning Contents:
These days, more people are becoming active in using the internet for research, pleasure
business, communication and other purposes. Indeed, the internet is of great help for
everyone. On the other hand, people assume different identities while in the cyberspace.
People act differently when they are online and offline. We have our real identity and online
identity
Tim Berners Lee

He is the inventor of the World Wide Web. In that time, the internet has already become an
integral part of everyday life for most of world’s population. The Philippines is among one of
the countries with the most active internet users.
Abstraction
1. More than half the world now uses a smartphone
2. Almost two-thirds of the world’s population now has a mobile phone.
3. More than half of the world’s web traffic comes from mobile phones.
4. More than half of all mobile connections around the world are now “broadband”.
5. More than one in five of the world’s population shopped online in the past 30 days.
DIGITAL SELF
This is a mask we put on to engage in the technological world.
Online Identity is actually the sum of all our characteristics and our interactions.
Partial Identity is a subset of characteristics that make up our identity.
Social Identity is the level of self whereby the individual is identified by his or her group
memberships.
Personal Identity is the interpersonal level of self that differentiates the individual as unique
from others.
Persona is the partial identity we create that represents one’s self in a specific situation.
SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

The conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions
of other people about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in
social interaction. Anything that is posted online, we should consider “PUBLIC” no matter what
our “PRIVACY” settings are.
Self-Presentation
This refers to the process of controlling how one is perceived by other people and is the key to
relationship inception and development. To construct positive images, individuals selectively
provide information about them carefully cater this information in response to others feedback.
This is behavior that attempts to convey some information about oneself or some image of
oneself to other people. These behaviors are activated by the evaluative presence of other
people & by others’ knowledge of one’s behavior. In new situations, many people would like to
impress & become self-conscious.
People behave in ways designed to create a favorable impression or even to one’s ideals.
Humans are social animals & regulate our behavior to fit in the world or adjust it to the
impression that we desire.
TWO TYPES OF SELF-PRESENTATION
1. Pleasing the audience – the type of self presentation which tries to match the self to the
audience’s expectations and preferences.
2. Self-construction – this type of self presentation tries to match oneself to one’s own 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 the users more vulnerable, leading
to compulsively checking newsfeeds and continually adding tweets and postings in order to
appear active and interesting.
Disinhibition Effect
One of the reasons for so much sharing and self-disclosure online is so-called “disinhibition
effect”. The resulting disinhibition causes people believe that they are able to express their
“true self” better online than they ever could in face-to-face contexts.
MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF SELF

Higgins (1987) argues that there are three domains of the self: the actual self, the ideal self
and the ought self.
Actual Self – this refers to the attributes an individual possesses.

Ideal Self – this refers to the attributes an individual would ideally possess.
Ought Self – this refers to the attributes an individual ought to possess.
Belk (2013)
Sharing ourselves is no longer new and has been practiced as soon as human beings were
formed. Digital devices help us share information broadly, more than ever before.
DIGITAL DIMENSION SELF POSSESSION

Attachment to and
Dematerialization singularization of virtual
possessions
Avatars affect online self;
Re-embodiment Attachment to avatars
multiplicity of selves
Aggregate possessions; sense
Sharing Self-revelation; loss of control
of shared place online
Affirmation of self; building
Co-construction on self
aggregate extended self;
Digital clutter; digital cues to
Distributed memory Narratives of self
sense of past
Mendelson and Papacharissi (2011)

In websites like Flickr or Photobucket, the use of arm’s length self-photography indicates a
major change.
Labreque, Markos, Milne, et al. (2011)

Researchers and participants become concerned with actively managing identity and
reputation and to warn against the phenomenon of “oversharing”.
Schwarz (2010)
We have entered an extraordinary era of self-portraiture. Blogs and web pages have been
continuously used for greater self-reflection and self-presentation.
Gershon (2010)
Many teenagers, as well as some adults, share even intimate details with their partners like
their passwords. This could be an ultimate act of intimacy and trust or the ultimate expression
of paranoia and distrust with the partner.
Van Djick (2008)

Sometimes people become unaware of the extent of information they share online and what
should not. Also, it provides a more complete narration of self and gives people an idealized
view of how they would like to be remembered by others.
Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Self Revelation

The sharing information about self online facilitated by the 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: Shared Digital Possessions and
Aggregate Self
Goffman (1959) and Leary (1995) argued that 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: Loss of Control

Because of others’ sharing, contemporary processes of self-management are not fully 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 unintended audience.
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 that is occupied by
a partially rotating set of participants.
CYBERSPACE AND THE INTERNET

The term cyberspace represents anything associated with the internet and more so relates to
the theories and symbolic space that surrounds the internet. Today they are often used
interchangeably, especially since the internet has grown in scope and influence. If the internet
was physical it would be an actual book you hold in your hand, including all of the written
elements of the story, while cyberspace would represent the mental projection you create
when reading the book.
GENDER AND SEXUALITY ONLINE

Sex is a biological state that corresponds to what we call a “man” or “woman”
Gender is the social understanding of how sex should be experienced and how sex manifest
in behavior, personality, preferences, and capabilities.
Sexuality is an individual expression and understanding of desire.
SETTING BOUNDARIES TO YOUR ONLINE SELF: SMART SHARING

1. Is this post/story necessary?
2. Is there a real benefit to this post is it funny, warm hearted, teachable- or am I just making
noise online without purpose?
3. Have we resolved this issue? Issue being worked at home, should not be in public.
4. Will this seem as funny in 5, 10, 15 years? Or is this post better suited for sharing with
small group of family members? Or maybe not at all?
ARE YOU A GOOD WEB CITIZEN?

Online anonymity sometimes allows people to push limits and act in ways they would not act.
As a result, some people especially teenagers report that it’s a cruel, cruel online world.
RULES TO FOLLOW
1. Stick to safer sites
2. Guard your passwords
3. Limit what you share
4. Remember that anything you put online or post 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 if you see strange or bad behavior online.
7. Be choosy about your online friends.
8. Be patient.
Assessment:
Activity
3 Facts, 1 Fiction
Construct four sentences about yourself that start with “I AM _____________.” Three
sentences should be
true to yourself. You can talk about your characteristics, strengths, weaknesses,
accomplishments, personalities and behavior. The other sentence should be a fiction or
something that you just made up. Make your fiction as
“believable” as possible.
1. I am ___________________________________________________________________.
2. I am ___________________________________________________________________.
3. I am ___________________________________________________________________.
4. I am ___________________________________________________________________.
Analysis
3 Facts, 1 Fiction is an example of self-presentation and impression management wherein we

control how we are seen by others. To develop positive images, we specifically give data about
ourselves to cautiously cater this information in response to others criticism. Choose one of
your social media profiles (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and analyze how you
present yourself to the public. Explain your answer in four to five sentences.
Application and Assessment
Who Am I in the Cyberworld?
Write an essay on the digital self. Consider the following questions in writing your essay.
1. What is the most challenging encounter you had in the cyberworld? Elaborate your
answer.
2. How did you handle this kind of experience? If you could have handled it differently,
would you? Explain why or why not.
Rubric for Analysis and Application:
5 4 3 2
Comprehension
: Student will
demonstrate
Very clear, Vague
adequate Lack of
comprehensive Good grasp of conceptions, but
understanding of understanding of
understanding of theoretical lack of clarity of
the theoretical basic theories
theoretical foundations. theories and/or
foundations &models.
foundations. models.
within the
communication
field.
Spectrum of Outstanding Fair to good Very basic Very limited or
Knowledge: showcase of amount of knowledge lacking spectrum
How much knowledge with knowledge base. of knowledge.
knowledge does extensive variety infield of study.
the student of resources.
demonstrate in
the artifact
Good
demonstration of
Expression:
Fluent & direct ideas and
How well does Acceptable Confusing
expression. constructs and
the student writing style, &unclear, with
Good use of very few, if any,
express their with some errors poor writing
semantics errors in
knowledge of the inwriting. style.
&syntax. grammar,
subject matter?
spelling and
punctuation.
Quiz
Directions: Enumerate the rules to follow in the cyberworld and add two more rules to this list.
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.
Answer Key
1. Stick to safer sites
2. Guard your passwords
3. Limit what you share
4. Remember that anything you put online or post 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 if you see strange or bad behavior online.
7. Be choosy about your online friends.
8. Be patient.
Student's Feedback
References:
1. Alata, E. J. P., Caslib Jr., B. N., Serafica, J. P. J. & Pawilen, R. A. (2018). Understanding
the Self. Manila: Rex Book Store.
2. Otig. V.& et.al. (2018). A Holistic Approach in Understanding the Self. The Political Self.
Mutya Publishing House Inc. Malabon City. pp. 108-113.

2.6 The Digital Self

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DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY DHVSU LUBAO CAMPUS

Sta Catalina, Lubao, Pampanga

Topic 11: The Digital Self

Duration: 3 hours (OPTIONAL)

Tim Berners Lee

SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

TWO TYPES OF SELF-PRESENTATION

Fear of Missing out

MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF SELF

Actual Self – this refers to the attributes an individual possesses.

DIGITAL DIMENSION SELF POSSESSION

Mendelson and Papacharissi (2011)

Labreque, Markos, Milne, et al. (2011)

Van Djick (2008)

Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Self Revelation

Needed Extended Self Updates Due to Sharing: Loss of Control

CYBERSPACE AND THE INTERNET

GENDER AND SEXUALITY ONLINE

SETTING BOUNDARIES TO YOUR ONLINE SELF: SMART SHARING

ARE YOU A GOOD WEB CITIZEN?

3 Facts, 1 Fiction is an example of self-presentation and impression management wherein we

Application and Assessment

Who Am I in the Cyberworld?

Rubric for Analysis and Application:

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