This document outlines a module on the digital self. It discusses how people present themselves on social media and why. The module objectives are to help learners identify their online identity, understand self-presentation online, analyze how online interactions impact the self, and classify where personal and social identities meet and diverge online. The activity involves learners creating a powerpoint on their digital identity using selfies. The document then covers digital and social media identity in more depth, discussing how identities are shaped by social influences and how multiple personas can be crafted online.
This document outlines a module on the digital self. It discusses how people present themselves on social media and why. The module objectives are to help learners identify their online identity, understand self-presentation online, analyze how online interactions impact the self, and classify where personal and social identities meet and diverge online. The activity involves learners creating a powerpoint on their digital identity using selfies. The document then covers digital and social media identity in more depth, discussing how identities are shaped by social influences and how multiple personas can be crafted online.
This document outlines a module on the digital self. It discusses how people present themselves on social media and why. The module objectives are to help learners identify their online identity, understand self-presentation online, analyze how online interactions impact the self, and classify where personal and social identities meet and diverge online. The activity involves learners creating a powerpoint on their digital identity using selfies. The document then covers digital and social media identity in more depth, discussing how identities are shaped by social influences and how multiple personas can be crafted online.
This document outlines a module on the digital self. It discusses how people present themselves on social media and why. The module objectives are to help learners identify their online identity, understand self-presentation online, analyze how online interactions impact the self, and classify where personal and social identities meet and diverge online. The activity involves learners creating a powerpoint on their digital identity using selfies. The document then covers digital and social media identity in more depth, discussing how identities are shaped by social influences and how multiple personas can be crafted online.
THE DIGITAL SELF Big Question: Why do we express ourselves on Social Media like we do? Objectives: At the end of this module, learners will be able to:
1. Identify themselves with their cyber ID;
2. Determine their self-presentation and self-impression in the cyber world;
3. Analyze the impact of online interactions in their self;
4. Classify themselves in line with the boundaries online: Private versus Public, Personal/Individual versus Social Identity, and Gender and Sexuality.
Activity: Selfie Adventure
Introduction / Procedure / Reminders: 1. The Learners are expected to bring with them their laptops smartphones and Tablets. 2. Have the class group themselves into 4. 3. The learners will create a power-point Selfie Activities to Inspire Reflection on Digital Identity individually. 4. Copy “my selfie adventure” template from the teacher and create our own. 5. Choose from among the group the most unique selfies and present it before the class.
Digital Literacy- capabilities possessed by individuals who are living, learning and working in a digital society. The idea of the digital self developed from the original phenomenon of the ‘extended self’, pioneered by Russell Belk in 1988. He believed our possessions are a major contributor to and reflection of our identities. Back in the day, it was external objects, such as clothes, jewellery and cars etc. that he believed we used and considered as part of ourselves. Think about it, could you live without your smartphone or laptop? (Be honest…)
Nowadays however, it isn’t merely tangible belongings that researchers consider as part of our extended self. Our digital possessions such as photos, videos, statuses, texts, and emails are now seen to be significantly important to shaping our digital self.
Q: DOES SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGE ONE’S PERSONALITY?
Why do we have a Digital Self?
The idea of the Digital Self is an interesting and relatively new topic discussed in consumer behaviour research. Researchers, such as Stone (1996) and Hemetsburger (2005) claim that the digital web allows us to try out different personas that differ from our real life identities. But why would we want to even do this? We were especially interested in looking at why we express ourselves online the way we do and we wanted to share the most common reasons:
Q: WHY DO WE TRY TO PRESENT A PERFECT IMAGE IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA?
- We want to meet the expectation of others: research shows over 50% of women would edit their social media photos to look better and meet the expectations that the media and magazines have set
- We want to boost our self-esteem: people upload photos and statuses online that they feel will receive ‘likes’ and positive feedback in which ultimately helps their egos
- To feel a sense of belonging: Some of us want to fit in with the crowd and upload things that are ‘down with the trend’ - for instance, who notices the amount of people posting pictures of their food increasing? It didn’t come from nowhere.
- Bigger sense of freedom: Unlike real life, digital platforms allow us to express ourselves in any way we want to without anyone there to physically judge us
- Striving to be our ideal selves: Digital Apps, such as Facetune, that allow us to improve our appearances on photos (through teeth whitening, skin smoothing and body shape editing) helps consumers to express as their ‘ideal’ self-online and inevitably feel better about themselves
In conclusion, the digital world has provided us with greater opportunities to express our identity in any form we want to. But what we all need to remember is: how will we feel if we go so far to express ourselves differently online that we forget what reality is, or worse, we end up resenting it?
Online disinhibition- lack of restraint one feels when communicating online.
Q: What makes the cyberspace important?
Online disinhibition- lack of restraint one feels when communicating online. Benign Disinhibition- healthy 1. Speaking about emotions, fears and wishes. 2. Showing kindness and helping others. 3. Combatting loneliness thru online interaction. 4. Finding emotional support. Toxic Disinhibition- unhealthy 1. Rude language, harsh criticism, anger, hatred, threats. 2. Pornography and violence 3. Cyberbullying 4. Threatening, humiliating, spreading rumors, making fun of others 5. Cyber harassment, exploitation Managing Toxic Disinhibition 1. Be careful about sharing 2. Do not hang with the wrong crowd online 3. Consider your emotional state before posting 4. Consider others’ possible reaction
IDENTITY AND DIGITAL CULTURE(A power-point Presentation)
Identity has no definition; the ways we form our identities are unique, therefore so are each one of us.
A person’s identity is defined by several concepts which today are highly influenced by digital culture.
Digital culture allows us to develop interpersonal identities through mediums such as online social networking sites. These identities can be broken down into three elements:
Social influences such as peer pressure or socialization also play a major role in the development of an individual’s self perception and identity.
Online activities allow a user to create multiple identities with which they can express parts of themselves, or even create idealized identities, that they cannot show or experience in the real world.
Ex. Sara and Jessica in the Frontline report; where Sara is able to bond with others over the common goal of thinness in her battle with anorexia, whereas Jessica creates an ideal image of Autumn Edows which transforms her from her current social reject position to a Goth model and artist.
Fun Fact: A new mental ailment has been discovered called the “Truman Syndrome”. Due to the constant exposure to media and surveillance, people have developed this paranoia where they think that their lives are secretly being portrayed on a reality TV show.
Due to the digitalization of society, it has become increasingly difficult to separate reality from the digital world. As a result, these ways of thinking have become ingrained into our definitions of ourselves.
Ex. Surveillance…
What once used to be what higher authorities subjected on us, is now what we use to keep an eye on each other and ourselves.
We have internalized the concepts of increased surveillance so much that through digital means such as blogs, and other online social networking sites, we now monitor and publish our own actions.
As a result, we are much more comfortable sharing private information and actually define ourselves by what we post online.
Each thing we post online becomes a new way to express our identities; for example our favorite quotes, pictures, videos, and wall posts…all of which define who we are, or who we want to be.
As we become more and more exposed to today’s digital culture, our definitions of ourselves will undoubtedly change and conform to what this new society has prescribed for us to be.
The nature of digital culture allows these identities to be spread faster, and further than ever before, challenging old identities and creating new ones in the ever-transforming flow of culture.
