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The digital self is the aspect of the self that one projects online and engages in the internet through surfing, playing games, researching, creating accounts for emails, blogging, shopping, and more. The current age is digitally immersed where even cellular phones are connected to the internet for efficient access to information and communication.
ONLINE IDENTITIES
Several websites online require a user to sign up for an account in order to gain full access. The site asks for certain information such as one's name, age, email address, and a preferred username and password. One's online identity may also include other characteristics such as physical traits, preferences, personality, and skills.
SELECTIVE SELF REPRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION
Virtual identity - refers to a set of characteristics or qualities of an online user.
Virtual identities are built to create virtual representations of certain individuals to express themselves and to use for virtual collaboration. Virtual personality, on the other hand, refers to the presence and attributes of a person online.
SELECTIVE SELF PRESENTATION
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
This involves the selection of which important information to reveal online in order to avoid identity theft or robbery.
This is the regulation of impressions online. Impression refers to the initial thought or idea one has about something or someone based on little evidence. Social media is a well-known platform for expressing impressions.
EFFECTS OF ONLINE INTERACTION ON THE SELF
POSITIVE EFFECTS ON THE SELF
Virtual empathy can be derived from connecting and being affected by emotional posts.
For shy or socially anxious people, online interactions provides an avenue for virtual socialization, which helps in practicing in a less demanding manner compared to face-to-face interactions
Online interactions allows one to develop their identity in relation to images, descriptions, preferences, and skills.
Online communication allows for the creation and reinforcement of meaningful relationships between friends and family.
The internet provides an avenue to know more people and established connections.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE SELF
There is a tendency for teenagers to become narcissistic.
Teenagers who spend too much time on social networking sites may show some signs of psychological problems including aggression, mania, and anti-social behavior.
Online interaction can become a distraction to students, and may result in poor performances in school or university.
Frequently checking social networking sites may also negatively affect the reading retention of students.
BOUNDARIES OF THE SELF ONLINE
The internet serves as a public sphere such that it becomes the avenue for public opinion that's shaped without censorship. The private sphere, on the other hand, relates to a home or a family. To illustrate this, social networking sites provide settings that allow a user to choose whether to go private or public. The private settings limits the viewing of one's profile only to users who are within one's approved circle of friends or followers, while the public setting allows everyone to view a user's account.
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