DIGITAL SELF

SELF AND OTHERS IN CYBERSPACE

WHAT ARE THE USES OF SOCIAL
MEDIA?
Digital self is a mask we put on to draw in
the innovative world. With the digital
technologies such as web pages, online
games, virtual worlds, social media, smart
phones, Internet, self-extension is extensive.
 EXTENDED SELF
The definition of self created by
the external objects with which one
surrounds oneself.
RUSSELL W. BELK’S DIGITAL
MODIFICATIONS OF THE
EXTENDED SELF
 DEMATERIALIZATION
• ATTACHMENT AND SINGULARIZATION
- The emergence of dematerialized and nonmaterial possessions raises the question of
whether consumers can become as attached to immaterial possessions as they can to
material possessions (which include digital devices) and whether we can gain status and
an enhanced sense of self from vurtual possessions.

• ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE THE SAME (WHAT VIRTUAL POSSESSIONS LACK)
- Digital virtual possessions appear to lack some of the characteristics that invite
attachment to material possessions.
 REEMBODIMENT
• ATTACHMENT TO AVATARS
- Those who have an avatar may have in-world autobiographical memories attached to
this character, including their interactions and friendships with other avatars, their missions
and experiences, and in some cases even virtual sex, marriage, and divorce (Boellstorff,
2008).

• PROTEUS EFFECTS
- Even slight differences between our real world bodies amd virtual reality bodies can have
effects on our behavior.
 REEMBODIMENT
•MULTIPLICITY
- Virtual world participants can have multiple
characters in order to either gain anonymity to act
out of character online or to explore different
personality possibilities.
 SHARING
• SELF-REVELATION
- The sharing of information about self online facilitated by the disinhibition
and confessional effects means that it is now far easier to present our
selves in ways that would have been awkward at best in predigital times.

• LOSS OF CONTROL
- Because of others’ sharing, contemporary processes of self management
are not fully under our control.
 SHARING
• SHARED DIGITAL POSSESSIONS AND AGGREGATE SELF
- The acts of sharing either the files or information about the subject matter (e.g., a musical
or film genre) on forums, in blogs, or via ratings and comments on sites like Amazon and
iTunes, create feelings of group identity (Brown and Sellen 2006; O’Hara and Brown
2006).

• SHARED SENSE OF (CYBER)SPACE

- Online third places provide an anchor for online aggregate sense of self that is shared with
and mutually constructed by other regulars.
 CO-CONSTRUCTION OF SELF
• AFFIRMATION SEEKING
- Friends also help to co-construct and reaffirm each others’
sense of self though their postings, tagging, and comments.
• BUILDING AGGREGATE EXTENDED SELF
- Shared exchanges between participants can be seen as a joint
expressipn of the couple or group who composed them.
 DISTRIBUTED MEMORY
• DIGITAL CLUTTER
- Without judicious planning, given the sheer abundance our digital traces,
those left behind may well be left with an unfathomable surfeit of files,
links, e-mails, and other digital flotsam and jetsam.
• NARRATIVES OF SELF
- following the principle of sorting on the way out, we now seem more
content to collect cues for a series of self-related vignettes that we hope will
somehow selectively cohere into an integrated sense of self.
 DISTRIBUTED MEMORY
• DIGITAL CUES TO SENSE OF PAST
- The proliferation of our online photos, videos,
posts, blogs, and timelines also provides cues that
link us to memories constituting both individual and
collective sense of past.
 SELF-PRESENTATION
The act of expressing onself and
behaving in ways designed to create a
favorable impression or an impression
that corresponds to one’s ideals (Myers
& Twenge, 2017).
TWO TYPES OF SELF-PRESENTATION
• PLEASING THE AUDIENCE
- A type of self-presentation
which tries to match self to
the audience’s expectations
and preferences.
• 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.
 MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF SELF

ACTUAL SELF IDEAL SELF OUGHT SELF

- Refers to the - Refers to the
- Refers to the
attributes an attributes an
attributes an
idividual would individual ought to
individual possesses.
ideally possess. possess.
 IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTION ON SELF

Individuals shape the impact of

technology has on their lives by
choosing which technology to use and
how to use it.
THE END
ACTIVITY: ESSAY

Has social media aided in your growth

as a person? Explain.