GE1, Digital Self PDF

Preview

Summary

Download GE1, Digital Self PDF

Description

CHAPTER II: UNPACKING THE SELF A. THE DIGITAL SELF

To be able to access Instagram Twitter of Facebook, the user must create an account which contains personal information to be supplied by the user. The account made and information given may be true, partially true, fictitious or a combination of all. Hence, an identity that we create online is purely based on what the user would want to present about himself or herself to those who are connected to the internet. This module presents the online identity of internet users, how the self is presented online and the impact created by these online interactions to the digital self.

From before you even wake up in the morning, your day is being encoded into digital data. Your phone understands when you are active versus when you are asleep. Social media sites know when you’ll make your first post and which triggers they can plant in your inbox to ensure you do. Soon, several device makers know you are listening to the morning news, as you do every weekday. Your search engine and many other services know that you are trying to make the perfect pancake for your kids. A number of databases are recording the fact that you are at home later than usual today and not requesting a ride anyplace. Those are just some of the most vivid examples of the personal data that continuously builds the digital representation of you. Inside your technology, applications work with the digital you to do other work on your behalf, optimize or manipulate the real-world you, or probably most frequently, sell you products and other things. While you may know that these digital representations are nothing like you, your opinion doesn’t really matter to those technologies that interact with your digital self. The whole process of creating the digital self has mostly crept up on society without any widespread planning. Only a few decades ago, the digital self wasn’t much more than your email handle and the contents of your inbox. Today, your digital self spans everything from your text messages to your sexual preferences, your brand loyalties, your family’s pregnancy statuses, your point-to-point trips, your recent and upcoming job status, and many other significant and insignificant points in between.

I, ME , MYSELF AND MY USER ID ONLINE Identity has many definitions, but without getting too metaphysical, we can sum it up in a few words: you are who you are and what you do. Simply put, your identity is the sum of your characteristics, including your birthplace and birthday, the schools you attended, your shoe size, and so on. Some of those characteristics never change, such as your birthday, and some change over time, such as your hair color. Similarly, when you are using the Internet, your 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 a different picture of who you are and what you do. Sometimes the different representations of you are 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 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 differently. For example, Amazon has established a partial identity for you based on the products you buy, whether it’s you at the keyboard or someone else using your account. Yahoo! Finance has established a partial identity for you based on the stocks you are following, whether you actually own those stocks or not. Neither one has your full identity, even if they were to put together your partial identities. The result is that you have one true identity and many partial identities. Some of the information associated with a partial identity is under your control; other information may be out of your control or even completely invisible to you. Regardless of what you can and cannot control, they all contribute to “who you are and what you do.”

SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT Social media and online community attendance have increasingly become a significant part of our social lives (Burkell et al. 2014). Managing self-presentation in online communities is an integral part of private and professional life (Rui and Stafanone 2013). When people become members of a community, they must select the relevant and appropriate pieces of information for their selfpresentation to be consistent with the profile of the group. According to Schwämmlein and Wodzicki (2012) the willingness to provide personal information in member profile is high because members gain acceptance through extensive self-presentation that facilitates the establishment of relationships with other network members.Self-presentation is defined as behaviors used for creating, modifying, and maintaining other people's impression about oneself. Nowadays, people do not only seek to manage their impression face-to-face but also in computermediated environments especially in social media. Impression management can be defined as a study of how people attempt to manage or control the perceptions which others form of them. The main aim of impression management is to steer others’ impression with the use of controlling information, photos, and videos and present them in a proper way in social media. In real life, the impression management takes place through both verbal and nonverbal communication, including body language, posture, speech and rank. Both in real life and online, self-representation connects the idea of who we are to the outside world. In social media, people “operate” their personal home page, photo albums, status and logs through text, images, audios, videos and other means, in which people interact with each other, this forms a new social interaction. Such text oriented and symbolic ways are becoming the most important ways of self presentation in social media. In order to achieve credibility and advantage, people adopt different strategies to carry out certain impression management. Overall, there are three kinds of self-presentation strategies: positive impression presentation, revision impression control, and vague impression formation of fuzzy control (Fiske, 1991). Proactive strategy refers that people value other people’s perception of self image in social media, and are willing to show the positive side, willing to upload photos to show personal image. Fuzzy generalization strategy refers that in order to avoid others to produce stereotyped images on oneself in social media, individuals tend to express their inner thoughts and feelings vaguely. Passive strategy refers to control the negative emotions and negative attitudes in social media. The study on 425 undergraduates from many Utah State Universities by Chou Hui-Tzu & Nicholas Edge (2012) shows that those who spend more time on Facebook are more likely to think that Facebook’s “friends” live a better life”; this indicates from the side view that people present a better side on the Facebook. In other words, people choose to present themselves in social media: They present more positive emotions rather than negative emotions in social media (pic 2), and compared to the self-presentation in reality, people are more willing to show a better side in social media (Lin Qiu,

2012).

Why People Engage in Self Presentation 1. Facilitate Social Interaction The most basic function of self-presentation is to define the nature of a social situation (Goffman, 1959). Most social interactions are very role governed. Each person has a role to play, and the interaction proceeds smoothly when these roles are enacted effectively. For example, airline pilots are expected to be poised and dignified. As long as they convince their passengers that they possess these qualities, their passengers remain calm and behave in an orderly fashion. 2. Gain Material and Social Rewards People also strive to create impressions of themselves in the minds of others in order to gain material and social rewards (or avoid material and social punishments). Social rewards also depend on our ability to convince others that we possess particular qualities. Being liked entails convincing others that we are likable; being a leader involves convincing others that we are capable of leading. 3. Self-Construction Another reason we try to create impressions of ourselves in the minds of others is to construct a particular identity for ourselves This type of self-presentational behavior serves a more private, personal function. Convincing others that we possess some quality or attribute is a means of convincing ourselves.

IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS ON THE SELF BOUNDARIES OF SELF ONLINE We know that the internet can have myriad negative effects on our lives. Between the damage it can do to one's mental health and its erosion of our capacity for face-to-face communication, our time online is quickly making our generation impatient, antisocial, and unhealthy. It can also be addictive, but we can't avoid it: Being online Is absolutely necessary for living, working, and communicating with others.

We are drawn to living out part of our lives online because it seems like a limitless space where our minds exist and our bodies do not, where our voices can be heard far and wide as we physically remain in one place. While on the one hand, this can be wonderful, it's harder for us to create the necessary boundaries that make using the internet safe, fulfilling, and healthy. Why are boundaries online necessary? It's important to create limits in regards to who we follow, what sort of content we consume, and how much time we spend on the internet. First and foremost, they’re necessary for our safety. As dangers like hacking and catfishing loom, it’s imperative to set up barriers to protect our personal data and identity from strangers online, such as increasing our privacy settings or limiting the amount of personal information available on the internet. Aside from safety, boundaries are necessary for maintaining good mental health. Research has indicated that spending too much time on the internet can be linked to heightened anxiety, and that excessive social media usage could be linked with depression. A look into the science behind the manufacturing of our technology provides some insight into why this might be. Research has found the blue light on our cell phones and computers can stimulate our brain to create more dopamine , a chemical that is associated with motivation and feelings of happiness. This means that checking our phones more often or spending more time online makes us feel happier, while taking time away from technology can cause withdrawal symptoms and actually make us depressed. What’s more, the notifications we receive on our home screen from apps like Twitter or Instagram can cause us stress or distract us until we check them. How can we create boundaries online? First we have to decide what sort of boundaries we are willing and able to create. This process is different for everyone. When approaching social media, for example, you should ask yourself: What am I looking for from this platform? Do I want to make friends, make professional connections, or find entertaining content? These questions can help you decide what sort of boundaries you need to create, and later, how you can create them. The most common boundary people are looking to create is a limit to how much of our personal information other people can access. Unsurprisingly, the best way to create these sorts of barriers would be through increasing your privacy settings. Keeping your Twitter and Instagram on private, changing your Facebook privacy settings to ensure strangers cannot contact you, and creating separate emails or social media accounts for work versus your social life are all good ways to create these barriers. But privacy settings can’t help create the emotional boundaries many people find are necessary, like the need we all feel to respond to messages right away or to check a notification as soon as it appears on our screens. Many experts say that removing push notifications from your home screen or deleting social media from your phone for certain periods of time can not only lessen feelings of dependency when it comes to the internet but can also improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and help people reprioritize inperson interactions.

DIGITAL FOOTPRINT Every day, whether we want to or not, most of us contribute to a growing portrait of who we are online; a portrait that is probably more public than we assume.

A

Digital

Footprint

is

the

record

of

your

interaction

with

the

digital

world.

You leave a trail of your digital footprints whenever you use technology online. This includes digital cameras, smart phones, iPods, tablets, laptops and computers. Your footprints contains bits of information about you. They could include your name, nickname or other personal information like your date of birth or address. They could let people know about what you like, are interested in and the things you like to do. Some of this information we leave out there knowingly, other things we may not even realize we have left. A Digital Footprint is like an invisible report card that accumulates over the years and is a general reflection of our online activity. In order to create a positive Digital Footprint, it is critical that we understand the permanency and implications, both positive and negative, of our online actions on our online identity. While it might seem that these footprints are harmless, they do not disappear when you close a website or logoff your account and they have the potential to be good or bad for you now and in the future. Your Digital Footprint should be considered as permanent as a tattoo; in fact, some people call them digital tattoos. Digital Footprints are used in lots of different ways. Some people use them to work out what you might like and try to sell you things. A health service might store your information to help you if you are unwell. Someone might look at your footprint to work out whether they want to give you a job. In the future some universities, colleges and schools might use your footprint to decide if they will let you enroll with them. Some are already doing this. So it is important to make sure the footprints you leave behind will help you now and in the future. Remember! * Everyone has a Digital Footprint or digital tattoo. * Once something is online, it could be there forever. * Digital Footprints, or digital tattoos, can be used for both good things and bad.

Creating and Managing your Personal Brand Online

Creating Positive Digital Footprint 1. Post only positive and interesting aspects of yourself to give others a good impression of your personal brand. 2. Find ways to ensure your brand reflects who you are, what you stand for, your passions and beliefs. 3. Avoid oversharing. 4. Start a blog, a Facebook Group, create videos or podcasts. These can be about a hobby, sport, personal interest or civic activity.

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP Digital citizenship can be defined as engaging in appropriate and responsible behavior when using technology. It encompasses digital literacy, ethics, etiquette, online safety, norms, rights, culture and more. A digital citizen is one who knows what is right and wrong, exhibits intelligent technology behavior, and makes good choices when using technology. Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps us understand what all technology users should know to use technology appropriately and responsibly. Today, billions of people all over the planet interact using various technologies. This interaction has created a digital society that affords its citizens opportunities for education, employment, entertainment, and social interaction.

Why You Should Care About Your Digital Footprint: https://youtu.be/Ro_LlRg8rGg

As in any society, it is expected that digital citizens act in a certain way according to accepted norms, rules, and laws. Most of today's students are entirely comfortable with technology, but are they using it appropriately? Do they understand their roles and responsibilities in digital society?

https://www.slideshare.net/MsCCostello/digital-citizenship-37029998

SOCIAL MEDIA BY THE NUMBER

SUMMARY The Digital Self allows us to examine how we extend ourselves to the various social media sites and any other online platforms. Today’s technology driven generation makes the use of social media sites part of our daily lives. These sites are used not just to make tasks more convenient for us but also to have a tool for self-expression. Studies have suggested equally positive and negative effects of social media use. One of which is how social media impact our self-concept and self-esteem. The risks posed by social; media use caution us to be careful of how we use these sites as a way of expressing and presenting ourselves to the public, there as boundaries that we have to consider to make our

personal or private platforms a safe and healthy place for self-expression starts with a responsible and accountable user.

REFERENCES Corpuz,R., Estoque R. Tabotabo, C. Understanding the Self. C & E Publishing, 2019. Monilla, MJ. Ramirez, N. Understanding the Self. C&E Publishing Inc. 2018. Otig, V., Gallinero, W., Bataga, N., Salado, F., Visande, J., Understanding the Self, 2018. https://youtu.be/Ro_LlRg8rGg https://www.oberlo.com/blog/social-media-marketing-statistics#:~:text=Summary%3A%20Social %20Media%20Statistics,-Here's%20a%20summary&text=3.5%20billion%20social%20media %20users%20worldwide.,on%20social%20networks%20and%20messaging. https://www.virtuallibrary.info/digital-citizenship.html https://www.slideshare.net/MsCCostello/digital-citizenship-37029998...