CHAPTE

R 8:
THE DIGITAL SELF
PREPARED BY :
MR. VICTOR F. ANG, JR.
 Is there a big
difference
between the selfPOP-UP
online and the QUESTION
real self ?
 DIGITAL SELF
It is the persona you use when you are online.

A mask that we put on to engage the

technological world.
 CYBERSPACE
The notional environment in which communication
over computer networks occurs. Refers to virtual
computer world or electronic medium used to
facilitate online communication
 The Other I: Love in the
Time of Social Media

“No one cares unless you’re pretty

or dying”
-Unknown
In this current generation where instant
gratification is the primary order of the day,
nothing beats falling in love with all the
boring bits, dragging process of courtship
already cut out. Virtual romance speeds
through moments and cuts to the chase,
and, at least for some, is assumed
to be better for it. Welcome to
a new and digitized age of
relationships in which many
couples partake.
“CATFISH” (Joost & Schulman, 2010) One such couple are Nev
and Megan. Their love is
typical “digital meet
cute”; started as
friends on Facebook, got
to know each other
through private
messages, then they fell
in love. But what if
only one of them is
real?
 The real Megan Aimee Gonzales, a Washington-
based model

CATFISH (2010)
Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Sculman
 Reality as Abstraction
“If I choose abstraction over reality, it is because
I find it the lesser chaos.”
-Robert Brault
Given the current pervasiveness of
numerous reality simulations,
absolute abstraction is fast
becoming a staple of modern human
experience. Abstraction, used in
this context, is the non-physical
properties one gets to try and
interact with when consuming
technology.
 For example, when you wear the VR (Virtual
Reality) glasses, you are able to take part
in different optical and auditory domains
of experience real life cannot provide.
 Real-Life Reality
Outside the cyberspace is the reality with which you
engage most frequently. Basically, this pertains to
life away from digital devices and where interaction
happens on a physical level. Conversely,
relationships in the tangible world can sometimes
be affected as well by purely abstract ones
established online.
 Simulation
Quite simply, simulation’s basic purpose is to copy
reality as closely as it can. This abstraction offers
uncanny representations of real-world aspects, and
can also be used for instruction (i.e. flight and
navigation simulators). Microsoft’s now-discontinued
multimedia encyclopedia Encarta offers virtual tours
of historical landmarks, while Facebook’s 360-degree
view feature enables you to panoramically survey
places as if you are really there.
Encyclopedia Facebook’s
Encarta 360-degree View
 Augmented Reality
This is real-life spliced with the unreal. Through rather
creative ways, augmented reality permits you to
simultaneously interact with both the tangible world and
various digital add-ons for a more enhanced experience. The
Pokemon Go craze that took the world by storm a few years
back is illustrative of this. Another are the Snapchat filters
that appear to alter one’s face (often for comedic effect) in
various ways when used.
Pokemon Go Snapchat Filters
 Virtual Reality
Is the type of abstraction completely detached from real-
life reality. Here, you are granted relative freedom to
explore and eventually inhabit digitally made up worlds
vicariously through a character or avatar you can create
yourself. Examples of this are various open world (or
sandbox) games that encourage freewheeling
interaction with the virtual environment and the
characters that populate it.
 Hyperreality
“Choose you self-presentations carefully, for what
starts out as a mask nay become your face.”
-Erving Goffman

Hyperreality is the inability to distinguish the real from

otherwise. In a way, it can also be seen as a more
evolved form of reality. A utopia of the mind, where
people exist as the best are insulted from the woes of
the real-life reality.
 The Cyberself
With the advent of digital age, we, nowadays are
termed not just simply as “individuals” but also as
“users”, slowly adjusting to the notion that
multiple realities (as manifest in various social
networking sites) naturally require the
construction of multiple representations
(or “digital online selves”).
 In short, our lives online revolve
around performance. It tells of
socialization as heavily role-oriented,
with individuals (labeled as “actors”)
being assigned specific ones to portray.
 Identity Crisis: Anonymity and Pseudonymity
in the Cyberspace

“Anonymity in the virtual landscape is

much different than in real life.”
-Jason Cranford Teague

A feeling of unhappiness and confusion

cause by not being sure about what type of
person you really are or what is the true
purpose of your life.
 Anonymity
Is the act of communicating wherein the sender
does not openly reveal his/her identity.
 Pseudonymity
On the other hand, lies in the middle of the
identity continuum, especially as it combines
both the benefits of anonymity and the joys
of assuming some semblance of identity.
 TWO MAIN CATEGORIES OF BEHAVIOR:

1. BENIGN DISINHIBITION- Is basically the relatively

positive side of the said effect. Primarily, focuses on
personal development, self-understanding and exploration
of new emotional domains of experience in the virtual
world.

2. TOXIC DISINHIBITION- Sits on the opposite end. This

category zeroes on disparaging remarks, death threats,
blackmails, and hate slurs, among others, that a user
may relish in, it may also pertain to anonymous
consumption of online pornography.
 OF
CHAPT
ER
 The Disinhibited Self

“People reveal so much of their mental

processes online, simply because the
psychological effect of anonymity just
means that a whole raft of inhibitions
is left alone when people log on.”
-Joanne Harris
 In the face-to-face interactions, we
often hold back on things we really wants
to say or do for fear of leaving a
negative impression. Also, we abide by a
set of decorum in such situations because
we are careful not to paint a wrong
portrait of who we are; “impression
management”.

ONLINE DISINHIBITION EFFECTS:

-Removal of social inhibitions and or
restrictions imposed upon people’s behavior when
engaging in the web.
Online
Disinhibition:
The Causes
 Online Disinhibition: The Causes

1. DISSOCIATIVE ANONYMITY
(“People Don’t Know Me”)
This is the confidence you feel every
time you anonymously engage in
activities “disassociate” your online
identities from your offline ones, you
can be relatively carefree
(or careless even).
2. INVISIBILITY
(“People Can’t See Me”)
In this factor, you can sometimes
intentionally misinterpret yourself
to come across as an entirely
different person, invisibility
enables you to hide your true
physical and attributes away.
 3. ASYNCHRONICITY
(“See You When I See You”)
Time is a very important element in face to face
communications. This is why meetings at work are
scheduled based on the attendees availability
conversely, you have the luxury of time delay in
the virtual world. Everytime you send an email or
even a message on Facebook, time is on your side,
you can compose and edit in a span several minutes,
sometimes even an hour or even more. Another plus
is that you do not even need to be physically
present in your virtual engagement.
 4. SOLIPSISTIC INTROJECTION
(“It’s All in the Mind”)
We essentially communicate online through
typewritten words. Verbal cues, though, ever-
present, are not the accepted norm in interacting
virtually. In this regard, you unconsciously
recite in your head both the messages you send
and those deployed your way. You play casting
director for these voices, imagining how the
pitch or intonation would be if spoken out loud.
And because the words are filtered through you,
you feel less intimated in communicating,
thinking it is all happening in your own personal
psychic domain.
 5. DISSOCIATIVE IMAGINATION
(“It’s All a Play”)

This is the faulty belief that online interaction is

a game, and whose rules you can easily break with no
perceived implications. Buoyed by the assumption
that your real life identity and digital avatar/s
are separate entities and that the cyberspace is but
an outlet for escape (like movies), you sometimes
resort to doing unspeakable things you normally
wouldn’t in real life.
6. MINIMIZATION OF STATUS AND AUTHORITY
(“Your Rules Don’t Work Online”)
Have you ever stumbled upon one of your
professor’s Facebook profile and it suddenly
occurred to you how powerless he/she seem to look?
If yes, then this is because the internet, more
than just providing users a disinhibited space,
level the playing field, with no one personality
having unanimous clout over others. Take notice
how complete nobodies suddenly have the guts to
engage influential people in arguments on social
media. Online people are perceived to be equals.