WEEK12: SPIRITUAL SELF
THE SPIRITUAL SELF
This chapter discuss the different world religions, the
beliefs of early Filipinos on different gods and
goddesses, superstitious beliefs, beliefs in faith healer,
soul and spirit and how those beliefs was changed since
the Spanish and American colonization. It also discuss
the different rituals, ceremonies, the practice of religion,
magic and witchcraft and also finding and creating the
meaning of life.
The practice of religion: belief in supernatural being and power
• According to Giddens (2006), religion is a cultural system of commonly
shared beliefs and rituals that provide a sense of ultimate meaning
by creating an idea of reality that is sacred, allencompassing and
supernatural.
• He identified the key elements of religion such as (a) religion is a form
of culture-shares all characteristics of culture such as shared beliefs,
values that create an identity, (b) religion involves beliefs that take
the form of ritualized practices - all members engage in behaviors
that identify them as members of the community, and (c) religion
provides a sense of purposefeeling
that life
is
ultimately
meaningful.
• In addition, Durkheim (1912) defined religion as a unified system of
beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, things set-apart and
forbidden beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral
community called a
Church, all those who adhere to them.
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/08/22/understan
dstudents-should-study-religion-essay -todays-world-more• Statistics indicate Christianity as the world’s largest religion with a 33%
population. It is followed by Islam with a 21% population, Hinduism
with a 14% population, Buddhism with 6% population, Chinese
Traditionalism at around 6% and Judaism at only about 0.22%.
• Philippines
is the only Christian country in the South East Asia.
Filipinos show their religiosity through participating on different
religious practices such as baptism, fiestas, “sinakulo,” prayer,
fellowship, communion, and other activities related to church.
• Before the Spanish colonization, Filipinos believed in animism, a belief
that all objects have spirits. They also believed in supernatural being.
According to McClenon (1991), the concept of supernatural has been
shaped by the Western notion of nature and causality and it is
culturally specific.
• Filipinos praised the trees, plants, sun, moon, stars and other living
and non-living things. They also praised the spirit of their ancestors,
which is called “cult of the dead.” They believed on the immortality of
the soul. An evidence of this is the Manunungul Jar where the
remains of the dead were kept. This image shows the belief of life
after death by early Filipinos.
• The memories of the dead are remained through carving their image
using gold and stone. This is called “larawan” or “likha” in Tagalog,
“diwata” in Bisaya and “bul-ol” in Ifugao. They also offered sacrifices
and prayers for guidance, sympathy and beseech. Not all “anitos” are
good, there are few who are evil.
• The priestess which is also called as “baylan,” “babaylan,” or “katalona”
does the ritual or offering. Early Filipinos practiced polytheism, a
belief in many gods, which was brought by the early Chinese and
Indian merchants. Some of their gods are Bathala, the Almighty God,
Agni, God of Fire, Mandarangan, God o War, Sidapa, God of Death,
Lalahon, God of Harvest, and Siginarugan, God of Hell. These beliefs
are passed orally to the next generation.
https://www.silent-gardens.com/culture.php
• However, there were some changes on the beliefs of the early Filipinos
when the Spaniards brought Christianity in the archipelago. The
changes were not immediate because early beliefs are already
practiced in the country. What the Spaniards did was, they adopted
the Christianity in the belief of Filipinos on animism. Monotheism was
introduced by Spaniards, a belief in only God, which has three
personas, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• According to the Holy Bible, they already existed before the creation of
the world. God the Father sent his son, Jesus Christ to save
humanity, which whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
an eternal life. When Jesus Christ died and rose after three days, the
holy spirit was left in humanity which serves as the conscience that
guides the human beings in doing right things and avoiding
committing sins.
• Not all tribes are converted into Christianity, some of them remained in
their animism beliefs. At present, where modern technology is part of
the lives of Filipinos, there are some who are still following and
practicing
the
superstitious
beliefs.
• According to Daskeo (2012), many Filipinos still spice their life with
superstitious beliefs that they strongly believe could help them cope
with day to day activities especially most important events in life such
as marriage, finding a job, and moving to a new house.
• Common Superstitions:
o If a person bites their tongue, it means somebody is thinking of
them; o A girl with shite spots on her fingernails is inconstant in
love;
o It is bad to sweep the floor at six o’clock in the evening for it
means driving away good fortune and graces
o One
should not open an umbrella while inside a house; a
centipede is likely to fall from the ceiling;
o If a pregnant woman sews her dress while wearing it, her baby
will born without hole in the rectum;
o Appearance of a comet foretells war
• These superstition beliefs are passed by the early ancestors orally and
still practiced by some of the Filipinos in recent times. With the
influence of Americans and science, the numbers of Filipinos
following superstitious beliefs were diminished.
• One of the influences of American colonization is the introduction of
science in the day to day lives of Filipinos especially on health and
sanitation. Their influence taught the Filipinos that believing in
superstitious beliefs may be detrimental to health. Like do not throw
the dusts outside the house after sweeping the floor, because you
may experience difficulty in money matters.
The Concept of “Dungan” (Spirit or Soul)
• The term animism is one of the oldest beliefs which is taken from the
Latin word Anima meaning breath or soul. Animism is the belief that
everything in nature – living things like trees, plants, and even nonliving rocks or streams – have their own spirit or divinity. Animism
beliefs are still present, accepted and never entirely disappeared.
• The soul according to the indigenous Filipinos is known as Kaluluwa,
Ikararuwa or kararuwa. It is taken from the root word duwa which
means two. The soul has two parts – one is the physical part, where
it is connected to the body and its life, and other spiritual, where it
exists on its own.
• For Ibanags, the soul is the principle of life in man. Body is the matter;
soul is the form. As long as the body and soul are one unit, man is
alive.
• Death is the separation of the soul from the body. The body cannot
stay alive without the soul. But the soul can live without the body.
Freed from the body, it ceases to experience thirst and hunger, cold
and heat. As spirit, the soul is the opposite of the body which is
matter.
• The Dungan may leave the body voluntarily while the person is asleep
according to BIsayans. Among the ancient Filipinos, when the person
is asleep they should not be awakened quickly in order to give ample
time for the Dungan to return to the body.
• While the Dungan is travelling outside of the body it should be free from
accidents because there is a possibility that it might be trapped in a
jar or be poured out with liquid from a vessel. When the soul has
safety returned home to the body of its owner, they could then be
awakened.
• It is for this reason that the Dungan needs protection and nurture. Soul-
nature, the folks believe, means the performance of age-old spirit
rituals many of which are still followed in the local provinces today.
Examples of these are birth, illness and death rituals consisting of
trances, prayers, and animal sacrifices. An adult person with a
healthy Dungan properly lodged in his physical body will have bodily
health and well-being, intelligence and good sense.
Religion, Spirituality, Magic, Witchcraft and Identity
The Function of Rituals
• Ritual traditions of Filipinos are best understood in terms of their
intentions. At the core of any ritual, balance between man and nature,
and the spirit world is very important. Rituals is an attempt to enhance
and maintain this balance.
• This is evident in some villages which perform rituals to restore the
state of affairs when the balance is lost. Human nature are
innumerable reasons for causing a shift in this balance. There are
equally innumerable rituals that can be done to correct the
imbalance. This is the reason for having a broad range of ritual
practices in the Philippines (Obusan, 2015).
• Rituals
have several functions. There are rituals to have a good
harvest, ask for the guidance and protection from their ancestors and
unseen forces, to heal the sick, to bring good luck and to conceive.
• Like in the case of Ifugao. They have rituals for marriage. If the two
couples are planning to tie the knot, they will ask guidance from their
ancestors. The butcher opens the body of a sacrificial pig and they
examine if the internal organs of the pig are healthy or not. If it is
healthy, they have the approval to tie the knot this year, if not, they
may try again in the following year. The purpose of this ritual is to
study the carcass for omens that guides them in their decision like
marriage.
• Dance and chants are a very essential part of their ritual. Rituals are
usually accompanied by dances. It is the higher symbolic form for the
Filipino. It represents the distillation of collective memory, affect,
religious piety, humility, and purity of intention. Even a complex
message can be articulated or maybe understood through dance
(Obusan 2015).
Rituals and Ceremonies
• Magos (1997), discussed the mara-it or dangerous zone of Panay
Island. According to her, Panaynon believes in spirit beings in the
sea like siokoy (half-man, half fish sea monster) and the mangingilaw
(half man, half monkey man eating monster) forest which are very
harmful. They also believe that the earth and the universe has a
layered structure with spirit beings live in each layer.
• Lupan-on are spirits beings who live on land, the idalmunon are spirit
beings who live underneath the surface of the earth and the tubignon
are spirit beings who live in water. These folks remind them that the
earth is sacred, inhabited by the spirit and thus dangerous. If
Panaynon uses the earth's resources with discourtesy or greed, they
will make the spirits angry. There are necessary fishing and farming
rites to be performed regularly to gain the favor from spirits such as
daga (bloodletting) and the samba (communal fishing rite).
• People
of Zambales also conduct a ritual in building their house.
According to the official website of the Provincial Government of
Zambales, residents of this province perform rituals before building a
house. The ritual starts with choosing which day is specified in the
Pilaton as a good day to start the project.
• According to Ms. Cristeta Acebes, principal of Uyugan Elementary
School (2012), “pilaton,” refers to a list of dates, including the phases
of the moon, that would ensure the success of any major undertaking
or activity of residents in the province. The second step is burying
coins in the first hole during laying of foundation. Fresh animal blood
is allowed to be dropped in the same place. On the day set to roof
the house, relatives, neighbours and friends usually come to help.
Those who cannot perform actual construction work normally offer
akhad (anything that can be served or cooked as food) or tudung
(drinks, usually wine) (Provincial Government of Zambales).
/www.batanes.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/rituals2.jpg
Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft
Religion
• Religion came from the Latin word religio means to respect or care for.
It is generally defined
as;
“belief in, worship of, or obedience
to
a supernatural
power
or powers considered to be divine or to have
control
of human destiny."
• According to Santrock (2014), religion is an organized set of beliefs,
practices,
rituals
and symbols that increases an
individual’s connection to a sacred or transcendent other (God,
higher power, ultimate truth).
• It
may also be referred to as an organized system of beliefs,
ceremonies, rules used to worship god. Another description for
religion is, an interest, a belief, or an activity deemed to be of utmost
importance to a person or group.
• However, there is no exact definition of religion. Religion is functional
especially in the unification of a certain place or country. It binds the
people through its teachings, practices and the end goal that
everyone wants to attain. If there is no religion, what would be the
content and priority of the law making body in creating and proposing
a bill in the congress? Probably, that would be the earthly things in
the world.
• Religiousness is the degree by which one is affiliated with an organized
religion in terms of the person’s participation in the prescribed rituals
and practices, connection with its beliefs and involvement with its
community of believers.
• Spirituality,
on the other hand, involves experiencing something
beyond oneself in a transcendent manner and living in a way that
benefits others and society. It could be related to a search for the
sacred.
• The term “sacred” may signify a person, an object, a principle, or a
concept that transcends the self. The sacred can include a divine
being or a divine object that is “set apart” and considered as holy or
beyond ordinary. The reference to what religion is, also refers to the
dynamics of the meaning attached to spirituality. It emerges as
people relate to the developmental and existential challenges of the
search for the meaning of existence amidst the ambiguity of life.
• Spiritual
identity is the persistent sense of self that addresses
ultimate questions about the nature, purpose and meaning of life. It
results in behavior that are consonant with the individual’s core
values. The definition of a sense of spiritual identity focuses on the
individual
construction
of
a relationship to the sacred
and ultimate meaning.
Magic
• Magic is the power apparently influencing the course of events by
using mysterious or supernatural forces. It is the ability to use
supernatural forces
to
make impossible things happen,
such as making
people
disappear or controlling events in
nature.
• A magician is usually a worker in the kind of magic that is on the whole
public and good, whereas a sorcerer is generally considered an evil
figure, one who deals in matters that his or her clients would rather
keep secret and one whose work may be downright antisocial
(Frankle and Stein, 2005).
• A sorcerer is translated from the Greek word pharmakos, and carries
with it the idea of medicine, magic potion, drugs, and poison. A wizard
is one who is thought to be acquired with the secrets of the
nonmaterial or unseen world while a necromancer is one who is
“seeking unto the dead”. It is a term that includes all forms of attempt
to make contact with departed spirits.
• Balang
is the Filipino term for a sorcerer. It is used to describe
malignant sorcery or familiar spirits (usually a swarm of destructive
insects, specially carnivorous beetles). In the Philippines, it swarms
small invisible insects residing in bamboos that enter the body
through open space causing the intestine, stomach, lungs, and liver
to swell during high tides and shrink during low tides. Mambabarang
is a person who practices this specific type of sorcery or witchcraft.
Binarang is the target (usually a person) of sorcery or witchcraft.
• Kulam is the Tagalog word for “voodoo” or “witchcraft”. It is one of the
most well-known aspects of Philippine folklore. The fear of kulam
usually has an effect on how a person conducts himself in the
community and on how people treat each other in a community. A
mangkukulam is a person who uses black magic or spells on a victim.
After the spell is cast, the victim will experience a form of illness which
cannot be cured by modern medicine, misfortunes to himself and
loved ones, inability to concentrate, lack of sleep, loss of appetite,
freak accidents, and other unexplained events.
• Albulario/mananambal is a Filipino practitioner of traditional medicine;
he is also a medicine man who is also capable of performing sorcery.
Albulario is a Filipino witch doctor, folk healer or medicine man. When
the person feels that his ailments and misfortunes are caused by
kulam, he consults an albulario who performs rituals in order to defeat
the spells of the mangkukulan and bring the person back to
normalcy.
• Most Filipinos aside from being a superstitious people believe in the
mythical creatures of local folklore which includes the aswang,
manananggal, kapre, dwende, sirena, syokoy, engkanto, sigbin,
tikbalang, tianak and many others. According to local folklore such
creatures inhabit dark forest and unexplored regions of barrios in the
provinces. Each region has their own mythical creature which usually
comes out in the night looking for food in the form: fresh blood,
pregnant mothers (they target the fetus), and human organs like the
liver or for victims to take them into the other world.
Finding and Creating Meaning
• Everybody is experiencing different challenges and problems in life.
Some have common problems, but some do not. Some have
different strategies in solving the same problems. There are some
who are good at hiding their problems or sufferings. Some people
may think their problems are bigger than the problems of others.
However, when they ask some people or have an open forum, they
will realize that they are wrong. There are other people who have
bigger and more difficult problems than them.
• Viktor
Frankl an Austrian neurologist and psychologist founded
Logotherapy. Logotherapy is based on the premise that the human
person is motivated by a “will to meaning,” an inner pull to find a
meaning in life (Frankl 1988). Finding and creating meaning in life is
what Viktor Frankl would like to teach to everybody. The following list
of tenets represents basic principles of logotherapy:
http://pagehanify.com/7criteria/coaching/mans-search-for-meaningdr-viktor-frankl/
1. Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable
ones. ● Every occurrence in one’s life has meaning. People tend to find
the meaning of that occurrence especially if it is a good incident or
circumstances. However, they tend to ask themselves or God for the
occurrence of bad happenings in their lives. Sometimes, they ask
themselves and God, “why did it happen to them?” “why did it happen to
their love ones, despite that they are good people, they do not deserve to
experience that such sufferings, but why them?” There are things beyond
the control of humanity, cannot explain by their minds and intelligence, but
Almighty God can. Individuals must realize that whatever circumstances
they have, even if it is good or not, they must find that life has meaning.
Those circumstances have purpose and meaning in their lives.
2.
Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.
• People experience different sufferings in life in terms of relationship,
love, studies, money, job, etc. Finding meaning in life despite the
sufferings should be the main motivation for living. An example of this
is, an individual who developed an inner hatred towards her family
when she knew that her mother tried many times to abort her due to
poverty and her siblings bullied her that she was an adopted child.
She developed a thought that she is not part of the family and even
at the start, she is an unwanted child. This pushes her to be the black
sheep of the family and be involved in different vices. Time is a good
healer. During her rebellious stage, she realized that she was only
destroying herself, it will not change the attitude and personality of
her family. She also realized that she only needs to accept her family
as they are and forgive the family members who caused her pain.
Being a rebellious person will not make her family to change. The
change will start on one’s initiative and not by other people. Finally,
she found the meaning of her life. The feeling of rejection
disappeared as times went by. She was alive when she was still an
unborn child because someday, she will serve as the light of other
people living in a dark life and will be an inspiration to the youth.
Those are her motivations for living. She is thankful to the Almighty
God for discovering the meaning of her life.
3.We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we
experience, or at least in the
stand we take when faced
with a situation of unchangeable suffering.
• Problems and challenges are inevitable. These make individuals
strong and hold their faith to their God. These also make them to be
flexible in a changing and dynamic society, to win in the battle or to
accept the defeat but with satisfactory adjustment. Everybody is
entitled to have and practice freedom in finding meaning in whatever
they do or experience. They are not slaves to anyone and are not
manipulated by other people. Their actions should not be dictated by
anyone, rather, it is their will that will be done. It is the right of
everybody to look for the meaning in their lives when faced with a
situation of unchangeable suffering. Situations with unchangeable
suffering may cause pain, but at the end of the day, individuals will
find its purpose in their lives.
• According to Frankl, everybody can discover the meaning in their life
in three different ways:
1. By creating a work or doing a deed o Individuals will find the
meaning in their lives through the works, accomplishments, and
achievements they have. This will give insights and realization to
individuals that creating or doing something specially to fulfill not only
their needs but also the needs of other people, that they will find the
meaning of their life.
2.
By experiencing something or encountering someone o
Individuals will discover the meaning in their lives by opening opportunities
to experience something or to meet other people. Confining themselves in a
four corner of their room will only limit themselves to new experiences of life.
If they tend to open themselves to new experiences or to encounter other
people, their world will be wider. They will realize that others’ problems and
situations are more difficult than them; that they are less fortunate people;
that they have to give importance to their lives and to the people that love
them; and to change themselves to become good and responsible
individuals.
3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering and that
everything can be taken from
a man but one thing: the last of
the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given
set
of circumstances
● Individuals will find meaning in their lives by having a positive attitude
towards circumstances. Failures in life, for example, is unavoidable
suffering that gives pain to individuals. Facing those failures in a positive
way with a positive and right attitude will make individuals more mature,
more responsible, and think more ways to solve the problems. Having a
positive attitude in facing the problems will also help individuals to cope
up with the problems like death of a love one. It will make them cope up
easily and move on with their lives without losing their cherished
memories.
WEEK 13: POLITICAL SELF: DEVELOPING ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
The brief primers on Politics, Citizenship and the Self and Active
Citizenship were accessed July 27, 2020 from
https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-1-the-political-selfdeveloping-activecitizenship/rio's
POLITICS, CITIZENSHIP AND THE SELF
• As members of the society, people are naturally obligated to participate
in a political system as social citizens. Politics refers to the actions or
activities concerned with achieving and using power in a nation or
society. It is also defined as the ways that power is shared in an
organization and the ways it is affected by personal relationships
between people who work together.
•
As Aristotle stated, “man is, by nature, a political animal.” This is
because man is a social being and that people naturally drawn to
various political involvements in order to satisfy their social needs.
•
Politics as imbibed by man implies several things:
1. Politics is concerned with power. Power inequalities can be observed
within societies. The one who holds power holds influence.
2. Politics functions based on a particular social economic and cultural
context. The nature of politics and political systems is dependent on
the culture of the state. Political claims made by advocates are
influenced by their geographical location and ideology.
3. The political is also personal. One’s personal choices reflect his/her
personal politics; both are indistinguishable.
4. Politics goes hand in hand with the society. Politics pervades the
structure of society, and thus influences inhabitants in their beliefs,
ethics, and behavior.
•
However, the political self is not only shaped by one’s political affiliation
or beliefs. One’s sense of accountability should be manifested in
promoting certain advocacies through healthy political engagement.
This is aligned with the concept of active citizenship.
ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
• Active citizenship refers to the structured forms of engagement with
political processes and everyday forms of participation in society. It is
also defined as the process of sharing decisions which affect one’s
life and the life of a community in which one lives. Participation is the
fundamental right of citizenship.
• Active
citizenship is anchored on one’s cognitive and behavioral
engagement to participate in formal and informal political activities.
Different people manifest different levels of active citizenship; some
they take a more active approach in making their voices heard.
• Active citizenship is a practice of democracy. Democracy should not
only be thought of as a form of government. It is a communal system
that allows volitional freedom of citizens to make informed choices
that allow them to be heard.
• Active citizenship is a social construct. It fosters social relatedness and
belongingness.
• The most important goal of active citizenship is to instil change and
influence society at large.
Active citizenship is also associated with the “sense of community.”
People, including adolescents, participate in communal activities
because it gives a sense of belonging in a particular group. Active
citizenship may facilitate ethnic pride and provide a voice to the woes
of their social group.
For the younger generation, active citizenship can contribute to their
social development. Engaging in such activities can also enhance
efficacy and competence of the younger generation, as they are
considered to be the “future leaders” of the society. The participation of
the youth in nation-building activities enhances their value orientation
and fosters integrity, compassion, and the sense of justice, which are
crucial to the holistic development of a citizen of a nation.
Active citizenship helps an individual embrace his/her individuality
through the choices he/she makes and the behavior he/she manifests.
The political self is a result of various personal and environmental
factors that impact the individual. The participation of the youth in
political discourse and social activities can result in cultural and political
paradigm shifts that may be felt even by future generations. Thus, the
future begins now.
WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT?
Week 14: DIGITAL SELF
WEEK 14: DIGITAL SELF
This section explores the impact of technology on the
society. It focuses on how technology use enables
people to become digital citizens, how it sustains
relationships and forge collaborations with other
people, and what kind of digital identities are being
forged while outlining the responsible use of
technology.
The brief primer on The Self in the Digital World was accessed July 27,
2020 from https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-2-the-digitalself-uncovering-digital-citizenship
THE SELF IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
• The millennial generation is known to be the generation of digital
natives because millennials were born in an era of rapid technological
advancement. As a result, daily life is almost always dependent on the
functions of technology, especially the internet which provides people
with a venue of presenting their identified through social media
platforms.
•
The advent of technology comes with a corresponding challenge: to
ensure that technology is used properly. This is the essence of digital
citizenship, which refers to the norms of appropriate and responsible
behaviour towards technology use. Digital citizenship is anchored in 3
general principles: respecting, educating, and protecting oneself and
others. Digital citizenship serves the purpose or regulating human
behaviour in a highly-technological and digital world.
•
A major concern of living in the digital era is how technology shapes
one’s sense of self and identity. One concept that is related to the
concept of the digital self is online disinhibition. It is defined as the
lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in comparison to
communicating in person.
•
Some individuals lose their inhibition in social interactions because
there is an aspect of being present only in the virtual, a sort of
anonymity. Anonymity may serve as an option for individuals who are
naturally shy and introverted to express their thoughts, without threat to
their self-esteem.
•
Nowadays, however, people are more inclined to show their own
personalities via online channels. The internet becomes a multi-media
venue for showcasing personal traits, qualities, and even experiences.
The values and beliefs he/she upholds are also expressed in his/her
online behavior. Thus, technology, through the development of virtual
spaces and communities accessible through the internet, can be a
basis of evaluating the consistency of the self.
•
The permeating nature of technology has also influenced various
technological and online behaviors people manifest. Within the concept
of digital citizenship, there are 9 themes that cover these behaviors:
•
The themes listed above emphasize the proliferation of technology in
the world and how they are used for specific purposes. Suffice it to say,
technology is here to stay. There is a need to adapt to the dynamic
changes that technology entails.
•
Technology offers limitless opportunities; its presence is inevitable.
However, technology need not control the society and people’s lives.
An individual must define himself/herself based solely on his/her terms.
Source: The Digital Self: Uncovering Digital Citizenship. Steven C. Valerio's
Blog. Accessed July 19,
2020. https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-2-the-digital-selfuncovering-digital-citizenship/ This article was accessed July 27, 2020 from
https://sensum.co/blog/the-digital-self-why-do-we-expressourselves-onsocial-media-like-we-do
THE DIGITAL SELF: WHY DO WE EXPRESS OURSELVES ON SOCIAL
MEDIA LIKE WE DO?
The Development of the Digital Self
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.
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:
•
•
•
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?