Material & Digital self

• Material self


  Refers to tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation my or mine
• William James: '"Refers to tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation my or mine."'
• Subclasses of the Material Self


  • Extracorporeal self
  • Bodily self
• Bodily self


  • The physical body
  • The extended self which includes all the people, places and things that are psychologically part of who we are
• It is not the physical entities themselves, however, that comprise the material self. Rather, it is our psychological ownership of them
• Composition of the material self

  • Body
  • Clothes
  • Immediate family
  • Home
• Body


  • The innermost component of material self
  • People are directly attached to this commodity that they cannot live without
  • People strive hard to make sure that the body functions well and good
  • Any ailment or disorder of the body directly affects us
  • People have certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to certain body parts because of its value to them
• Clothes


  • Influenced by the "Philosophy of Dress" by Hermann Lotze, William James believed that clothing is an essential part of the material self
  • The fabric and style of the clothes that people wear bring sensations to the body to which directly affects our attitudes and behavior
  • Clothing is a form of self-expression and people choose and wear clothes that reflect their selves
• Immediate family


  • May include parents, siblings, in-laws, spouse, grandparents, children, grandchildren
  • Two main ways to determine immediate and other family members: relation by blood or relation by marriage
  • We place huge investment on immediate family because we see them as a replica of our self, their failures and success affect us
• Home


  • The earliest nest of our selfhood
  • Our experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular parts and things in our home
  • The home is an extension of self, because in it, we can directly connect our self
  • Anyone can find a home in anything
• How can we tell whether an entity is part of the self?

  • Examine our emotional investment in the entity - if we respond emotionally when it is praised or attacked, it is likely part of the self
  • See how we act towards it - if we lavish attention on it and labor to enhance or maintain it, it is likely part of the self
• Studies show there is a close connection between possessions and the self
• People spontaneously mention their possessions when asked to describe themselves
• People also amass possessions
• The tendency to treat possessions as part of the self continues throughout life, perhaps explaining why so many people have difficulty discarding old clothes or possessions that have long outlived their usefulness
• Why do we value possessions?

  • Possessions serve a symbolic function, helping people define themselves
  • Possessions extend the self in time, as people seek immortality by passing them on to the next generation
  • People's emotional responses to their possessions attest to their importance to the self
• Digital self


  The persona you use when you're online, which may be distinct from your "real-world" self
• Key concepts related to digital self

  • Personal identity
  • Social identity
  • Online identity
• 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
• How do you build your online identity?

  • Every website you interact with will collect its own version of who you are, based on the information you have shared
  • You can represent yourself as closely as who you are and what you do in real life, or selectively create a representation far from your real life
• Cyberspace


  • People are more willing to speak out and misbehave
  • Authority is minimized
  • Online disinhibition - lack of restraint one feels when communicating online
• Managing toxic disinhibition


  • Be careful about sharing
  • Do not hang with the wrong crowd online
  • Consider your emotional state before posting
  • Consider others' possible reactions
• Selective presentation and impression management


  • Our behaviors can change if we notice that we are being watched or observed
  • We select only what we want to present and impress to others, what we view beneficial to our personality, especially when we create a digital self
  • We often try to impress others - to put our best foot forward, to look good and follow new trends, and to get people to like us even if it means lying, pretending, and creating a fictitious self
• Self-presentation


  • How people attempt to present themselves to control or shape how others view them
  • Involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression
• Impression management


  The controlled presentation of information about all sorts of things, including information about other people or events
• Types of self-presentation

  • Authentic - consistent with how we view ourselves
  • Ideal - consistent with what we wish we were
  • Tactical - consistent with what others want or expect us to be
• Selective self-presentation and impression management is very important in the development and maintenance of social relationships, and for gaining self-confidence and pride
• Success in social relationships and as a person requires a delicate balance of self-presentation and impression management
• You need to monitor and control how you appear to others, but never forget to also be straightforward and 'authentic'
• Extracorporeal self


  the extended self which includes all the people, places and things that are psychologically part of who we are.