DIGITAL SELF
-is the persona you use when you’re online. Some people maintain one or more online identifies
that are distinct from their “real world” selves; others have a single online self-that’s more or less
the same as the one they inhabit in the real world.
Watch and Learn
Let’s watch an episode of the ABS-CBN program Wansapanataym
Selfie pa more, Sasha no more at
[Link]
1. I, ME, MYSELF AND MY USER ID ONLINE IDENTITY
Types of Identity
1. Personal Identity – the interpersonal level of self which differentiates the individual as unique
from others
2. Social Identity – the level of self whereby the individual is identified by his or her group
memberships
3. Online identity – the sum of your characteristics and interactions because you interact
differently with each website you visit, each of those websites will have different picture off
who you are and what you do.
What is online identity?
Is the sum of your characteristics and interactions because you interact differently with each
website you visit, each of those websites will have different picture of who you are and what you
do. It implies that there is a distinction between how people present themselves online and how
they do offline. Sometimes the different representation of you is referred to as partial identities,
because none of them has the full and true picture of who you are.
“Your online identity is not the same as your real-world identity is because the characteristics you
represent online differ from the characteristics you represent in the physical world. Every website
you interact with has its own idea of your identity because each one you visit sees you and your
characteristics different. “ ([Link], 2011)
What is an identifier? And how is that different from my identity?
An identifier is a way of referring to a collection of a person’s characteristics or what we have
described here as a partial identity. For example, if you have an Instagram, you must create an
identifier by way of making your own username. Most websites, including search engines
(Google), prefer to have you signup (or register) so they can maintain information about your
identity, such as a profile, or store your profile information more securely. In some cases, the
identifier may be invisible to you.
Key Terms
1. Identity -The complete set of characteristics that define you. Ex. Name, nicknames, birth
date and any other unique characteristics that combined make you who you are
2. Identifier - A way of referring to a set of characteristics. Ex. Your email address
(myID@[Link]) or user name (RaulB) or an account number (7633)
3. Partial Identity - A subset of the characteristics that make up your identity. Ex.
Demographic information about you or any purchase history is stored in your account at a
website Profile- Information collected by others about your actions and characteristics.
Ex. A search you conducted for “discount shoes” or a list of websites visite
4. Persona - A partial identity created by you to represent yourself in a specific situation. Ex.
A social network account or your online blog
How do you build your online identity?
• Create an account with a unique identifier
• Provide information needed for partial identity
• Profiling interactions with online platforms (websites)
Every website that you interact will collect its own version of who you are, based on the
information that you have shared. It is up to you how you will represent yourself as closely as who
you are and what you do in real life or selectively, to create a representative far from your real life.
2. SELECTIVE SELF PRESENTATION & IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
SELF PRESENTATION refers to how people attempt to present themselves to control or shape
how others (audience) view them. It is a range of strategies that people adopt to shape what others
think of them. Self-presentation is often directed to external audiences such as friends, lovers,
employers, teachers, children and even strangers. It is more likely to be conscious when the
presenter depends on the audience for some reward, expects to interact with the audience or values
the audience’s approval. Yet self-presentation extends beyond audiences that are physically
present to imagined audiences and these imagined audiences can have distinct effects on behavior.
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT it is used when people are directly involved with one another or
when interaction is indirect and the target is not in the immediate area. It is the way people
influence how others think about something else, usually themselves. People usually do this either
to get something they want from others or establish an independent identity. \
SELF-PRESENTATION vs. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
It involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression. Self-
presentation isa part of a broader set of behavior called impression management. Impression
management refers to the controlled presentation of information about all sorts of things including
information about other people or events. Self-presentation refers specifically about the self.
According to Newman, impression management is an act presenting a favorable public image of
one self so that others will form positive judgments. It self-presentation techniques focuses on
improving a person’s image in the eyes of others. It presents constructive and favorable images to
the public, encouraging appositive outcomes. In regards to the social implication impression
allows people to carefully craft and constructs their public perception in order to obtain a favorable
social appearance. Its purpose is to understand the process through which people try to control he
impression of other people and how they form of them.
3. IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTION ON THE SELF
Social media is a term for numerous technologies that allow instantaneous communication, status
updates, and social networking among individuals. Social media platforms today include text
messaging via cellular phones and social networking sites such as Facebook. The use of social
media by youth (preadolescents and adolescents) continues to increase across the world on a yearly
basis.
Social media can have a positive impact upon loneliness, intimacy, and relationship maintenance
during adolescence. However, adolescents also experience relational issues via social media and
are more reckless online. Social media, particularly Facebook, may have both a positive and a
negative impact on mood symptoms and other mental disorders. Social media may play a role in
identity formation by allowing younger users to experiment with different behaviors and
interactional styles.
POSITIVE IMPACT
• Enhancement of social contact
• Independence
• Communication
• Sense of emotional connection with others
• Educational benefits
NEGATIVE IMPACT
• Online meanness and bullying
• Misunderstandings
• Unwanted contact
• Unintentional disclosure
4. BOUNDERIES OF SELF ONLINE
PRIVATE VS PUBLIC
Private self Public Self the person’s true self It is the parts of a person that he/she The way
a person act around others is not decides to show to the world. the same as how you act when by
yourself How a person want people to view or when with people whom he/she is him/her and
how he/she act around comfortable with. others. It is the personal emotions, morals of a person
and what a person hides from most people.
“We can be whatever we want behind the doors of our homes” (quote)Sociologist Erving Goffman
(1959) distinguished between "back stage" and "front stage."
FACTORS AFFECTING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SELF:
• the popularity of social networking sites
• “Fear Of Missing Out”-
• Disinhibition Effect
SETTING BOUNDARIES ONLINE
• Consider your purpose.
• Take things slow.
• You don’t have to interact with every email.
• Share only what makes you feel good.
• Don’t forget privacy is important.
SOCIAL IDENTITY the set of characteristics by which a person is definitively recognizable or
known by the society in which they live. These are characteristics that are attributed to the
individual by others (the society). These characteristics serve as markers that indicate what that
person is, in the eyes of others (their society)This takes place through interaction in the social
setting. At the same time, this means that these characteristics put that person in the same group
as other individuals who share the same attributes. Examples of social identities include being a
father, mother, student, physician, lawyer, evangelical, homeless person, Catholic, etc. Another
way to define social identity is “Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their
group membership(s)”. According to Richard Jenkins,‘ social identity can be understood as our
understanding of who are and of who other people are and reciprocally other people’s
understanding of themselves and others. This highlights that social identity is created as the
individual interacts with others and identifies himself as part of the society.’
SELF-IDENTITY/ INDIVIDUAL SELF sets us apart as distinct individuals. Self-identity defines
our unique sense of ourselves and our relationship to the outside world Dictionaries define self-
identity as the conscious recognition of the self as having a unique identity. It is an awareness of
and identification with oneself as a separate individual.
Personal identity can simply be understood as the sense of self that an individual develops as he
grows older. Social identity is the story the society (others) says about you while self-identity is
the story you say of yourself.
GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Sex is the biological, fixed and immutable state that corresponds towhat we might call a “man” or
a “woman”(West and Zimmerman 1987)
GENDER World Health Organization: “gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors,
activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women”
‘masculine' and 'feminine' are gender categories a sociocultural specific set of norms that are
mapped onto a category of sex(Kessler and McKenna 1978)It is historical, and is produced by
media and popular culture (Gaunlett 2008; van Zoonem 1994)
SEXUALITY is about who you are attracted to sexually and romantically. It’s about
understanding the sexual feelings and attractions we feel towards others, not who we happen to
have sex with.
PERFORMING GENDER ONLINE
Disembodiment hypothesis Internet users are free to actively choose which gender or sexuality
they are going to portray with the possibility of creating alternative identities(Wynn and Katz
1997).
The ability of the users to self-consciously adapt and ply with different gender identities would
reveal the choices involved in the production of gender, breaking down binaries and encouraging
fluidity in sexuality and gender expression.
PERFORMING GENDER ONLINE
Blogs that are written and read by women are usually about fashion, make-ups, food, parenting,
etc. Blogs that are written and read by men are usually about technology, politics, sports, etc.
(Chittenden2010; Hindman 2009, Meraz 2008)
Although technologies are the same, the norms and mores of the people using them differ.
“The social web can’t exist until you are your real self online.” -Sheryl Sandberg
