MODULE 9: SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF THE SELF

Spiritual Self
 The spiritual self is quite difficult to discover as it is impossible for every human being to
know the true will of God.
 People rely only on their faith and faith dictates that the reason for living is to follow the
works and examples of Jesus Christ.
 The life of Jesus on earth is a perfect example of what love is-love is unconditional and
without limit, love that is willing to endure all pain.
 He sacrificed his life to save humankind and from being God, he became man and died on the
cross.
 His sacrifice shows selflessness. This is the self that Jesus wants people to follow.

 For Christianity, there is no self. To be a Christian, one has to deny himself or herself, leave
his or her family, give all his or her possessions to the poor and needy, and follow the
example of Jesus.
 This is the Self in Roman Catholic faith. God’s words are so demanding yet fair.
 He wants his followers to live a selfless life, a life that free from attachment to material
things. A self that is higher than material, sexual, and physical self can be simplified as a holy
self.

The Practice of Religion

 Does God really exist? From the point of view of an atheist, He does not exist. God is dead
and irrelevant.

 However, using reason and logic, one may be convinced that He really exists by answering
such questions as “Why does it seem like everything in the universe is perfect?” “Why does
the human body seem to be perfectly designed from the brain up to the bones?”

 With these questions, there has to be an “architect” who designed all these things. This
supposition leads people into the idea of a god, a supreme being.

 Religion introduces the concept of supreme beings (God, gods, or goddesses) as cause or
reason of all phenomena.

 The traditional concept based on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam regards god as an
independent being, the creator of the universe.

 The highest being who shows concern for the suffering of humankind, the face of justice that
manifests ultimate forms of rationality and morality.
  This supreme being is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent
(everywhere at once).

 This god is also the beginning and the end and the lawgiver. This god is regarded as the most
merciful, most just, most patient, and cannot be represented in any worldly form.

 Anthony Wallace, as cited by Haviland, Prins, Walrath and Mcbride (2008), explained that
religion is a set of rituals made to coordinate with the goal of either obtaining or hindering
changes in human condition and nature’s state.

 These rituals or practices are usually justified by myths.

 Behind this definition lies a recognition that when people are unable to fix serious problems
they resort to manipulation of supernatural or spiritual beings and power.

 Religion has many functions such as providing sense of the world, strengthening norms
and identity, setting sanctions for individual behavior and giving serenity in facing life
challenges.

The Concept of the Soul

 Monism is a view that there is only one substance and only one being.

 It means that the soul and the body are one.

 On the contrary, Dualism is a view that mind and body are two independent substances.

 Western philosophers believed that the human person is a rational being which constituted of
soul and body. The soul is superior to the body and can exist independently without the body.

 It is invisible and immortal and it directs the physical body.

 Death is viewed as the release of the soul from the body, but death does not mean the end of
personal existence.

 The soul is the life-force of the body. It is the source of motion as well as the intelligence or
mind of a person that pre-exists bodily existence.

 The Filipino term for soul is Kaluluwa. It is believed that it has two existences.

 One is physical, in which the sou; is connected to the human body.

 The other one is spiritual which exists on its own.

  The Philippines, a small country with more than 80 percent of its population as Roman
Catholics believe in the immortality of the soul and the life after death.

 Eternal life can be attained by good deeds, following the commandments of God, and
avoiding sins.

 The soul can be purified through confession.

 A Catholic who failed to live a moral life is believed to be thrown in hell.

Dungan: The Bisayan Concept of Soul

 Dungan is the Ilonggo term for the soul. It lacks material substance and is extremely light
that it travels with the wind.

 It is believed that Dungan dwells above the surface of the earth before inhabiting the human
body.

 It patiently chooses an unborn child’s body to inhabit.

 It does not stay in any specific part of the body but it grows proportionately with the physical
body- the bigger the person the bigger the Dungan.

 Ilonggos believe that it must be protected and nurtured when a person is at young age due to
vulnerability to usug which may manifest through different kinds of diseases.

 Ilonggos believes that dungan cannot be seen by the naked eye but there are times that when
it separates from the body and appears in the form of a butterfly, grasshopper, or other small
animals.

 The elderly uses the dungan, for instance, to threaten children who refuse to eat dinner and
such that their dungan will get hungry and leaves their body.

 For the people of Visayas, one’s dungan leaves the body when a person sees his or her
dungan when dreaming. With such belief, they warn people not to bluntly awaken those
sleeping to give chance for the dungan to return to the physical body.

Religious Rituals

 Rituals are patterns of behavior or practices that are related to the sacred.
  In Catholicism, rituals are called sacraments. There are 7 sacraments, namely, baptism, Holy
Eucharist, confirmation, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, marriage and holy order.

 Baptism, for example, is much more than pouring of oil and washing of the head with water;

 it is celebrated to welcome the child to the catholic faith and to free him or her from the
original sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

 In the Holy Eucharist, the host and the wine represent the body and blood of Christ which are
believed to be very important for the forgiveness of sins.

 Adherents of a certain religion use rituals to give honor to the divine power or powers they
believe in and to serve as a reminder of their religious obligations.

 The independence between rituals and beliefs is possible such that rituals validate beliefs.

 Religion establishes norms that mold or shape human behaviors.

 For the Roman Catholics, it is expected that certain rituals are observed during Lenten
season, such as Stations of the Cross and Salubong which is the ceremony during Easter
Sunday when the risen Christ meets His mother.

 There are also religious rituals that involve self-flagellation such as carrying of the cross,
infliction of wounds at a person’s back using a whip, walking barefooted, and crucifixion.

 The faithful believe that doing these acts will cleanse their sins, cure their illnesses, and grant
their wishes.

 Filipinos, being dominantly catholic, follow certain norms during Lenten season such as the
observance of fasting and abstinence and even the prohibition of playing loud music during
Good Friday.

 These rituals signify and strengthens our sense of belongingness.

 Public ceremonies provide the avenue to build harmonious relationships among people in a
social unit.

Rites of Passage

 These are rituals that mark important stages in an individual’s life cycle.

 In one of anthropology’s classic works, French social scientist Arnold van Gennep analyzed
the rites or major social transitions in their lives, such as birth, puberty, and marriage.
  He found it useful to divide ceremonies for all of these life crises into three stages, namely
separation, transition, and incorporation.

 The first being ritual of removal from the society, followed by isolation and finally, formal
return and readmission with his or her new status.

 One example is the male initiation rites of the aborigines of Australia.

 The boys are separated from the people of the village ( separation)

 The ritual includes circumcision and knocking out of tooth

 They are considered dead in reference to the ordinary life of the tribe (transition).

 Ceremonies are held when they return to the village (incorporation) as if they have returned
from the dead.

Magic and Witchcraft

 Anthropologists call the practice of compelling the supernatural forces to work or behave in a
specific way as magic.

 Spoken words and objects are key components of magic.

 It may be used in good or evil.

 Magic rituals are usually performed to ensure good harvest, fertility, and prevention of
illnesses.

 This belief is often associated with simple or primitive societies.

 The 2 forms of magic are sorcery and witchcraft.

 Sorcery makes use of materials, objects, medicines to invoke supernatural malevolence.

 Witchcraft, on the other hand, may accomplish the same by means of thought and emotion
alone.

 In the Philippines , barang (magic or sorcery in Cebuano) is done as an act of revenge for the
wrongdoing of the other party.

 The victim is called “natabang” or “nabarang”

 The “natabang” may experience illness like stomachache while;

  the “nabarang” would have more painful and deadly experience as a swarm of insects may
enter through the nose, ears, and other openings of the victims body.

 Victims of witchcraft in the Philippines are called “nagaway” or “nakulam”.

 Many forms of illness may be inflicted through the use of dolls, candles, and prayers during
the ritual.

 It may not be only caused by requests but also envy or jealousy towards another person.

Perspectives from the Roman Catholics and the Atheists

 For the Roman Catholics, God is the creator of all things.

 They also believe that life is temporary; faith gives the believers hope that in life after death
they will meet their creator in heaven.

 To reach heaven, every individual must live a selfless life which is modeled by Jesus when he
became a man.

 On the contrary, what if there is no life after death? What if humans are just bodies without
soul? Will life have meaning? Are we still willing to submit ourselves to religion and norms
of society?

 For existentialists, God is dead, there is no life after death, and life has no meaning.

 They posit that it is the person who should create his or her own meaning of existence.

 To have a meaningful existence is to satisfy his or her bodily desires for there is no heaven.

 Furthermore, existentialists assert that heaven is here on earth and this entails the worldly
things and deeds that satisfy one’s senses.

 For Albert Camus, a well-known existentialist and atheist, human life is absurd.

 He posited that life is absurd because people are constantly looking for answers, reasons, or
justifications for the good and bad things happening.

 He pointed out that humans have a sense of justice and fairness which they project onto the
world, but the world continues to disappoint them by not adhering to their established
standards of fairness.

 Humans continue to seek answers for so many questions and end up with nothing.
  This illustrates absurdity which is the term used to describe the search for answers in an
answerless world.

 For Camus, it does not matter if God really exists or not.

 In Atheists’ perspective, religions contradict each other as to which values are correct and
even religious people sometimes seemingly become confused with their faith.

 For him, meaning or purpose does not exist.

Essence versus Existence

 For Plato and Aristotle, all have core elements and without those, things would not be what
they are.

 These elements, collectively called essence, are inherent properties that give things their
defining features.

 For two philosophers, all entities have substance and form.

 E.g a shaver could be manual or electronic; it does not really matter as long as it can shave
hair. But if it does not have a blade, it is not a shaver anymore.

 The blade defines the purpose of the shaver.

 The two agreed that everything has essence including humans and they believed that it
already exist even before the time of birth.

 In this belief, one aspect of being a good human adheres to one’s essence.

 People were created to fulfill a specific purpose.

 This is the philosophy of essentialism.

 Jean Paul Sartre, on the contrary, argued that “existence (das-sein) precedes essence (was-
sein).”

 Under this claim, human beings are not defined by essences.

 People are free to live their lives and they should define what they are, not in accordance with
an idealized set of characteristics.

 One is responsible for his own actions.

  For Sartre, “Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.”

 What matters is how one does with his life at this moment and not what will happen to him
after death.

 This is the philosophy of existentialism.

 In addition, theistic existentialism tries to invalidate the concept of God created all for a
purpose.

 For them, the existence of God is possible but does not predetermine the meaning of life or
existence.

 People are born into this world wherein their existence, actions, and world do not posses real
and inherent importance.

 This is the fundamental philosophy of existentialism but it has to be noted that it is not the
same with atheism for there are existentialists who believe in God.

Man’s Search for Meaning

 Viktor Frankl, who wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning (1946), was a neurologist who
developed logotherapy.

 Logotherapy is a psychotherapeutic approach which is anchored to 3 principles:

1) Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.
2) The impetus to live is one’s will to discover meaning in life.
3) Humans are free to discover meaning in everything they do.
 His logotherapy was influenced by the work of Soren Kierkegaard’s will to meaning as
opposed to Alfred Adler’s will to power and Sigmund Freud’s will to pleasure,
 Regardless of how long one lives, it still has meaning.
 For Frankl, there are 3 ways to find meaning in life:
1) doing an action,
2) having personal experiences and interpersonal interactions, and
3) evaluating ones attitude in midst of suffering.
 Upon discovering the meaning of life, humans must prepare for suffering and to deal with it,
one has to undergo a change of attitude.
 MODULE 10: POLITICAL ASPECT OF SELF

Political Self

 Here in Philippine Culture, Filipino posses common values such as religiosity, hospitality,
friendliness and compassion among others and that it contributes each “Filipino” fellow and
their identities.
 The political self the self that the Constitution aims to foster. This self defines the rejection of
individualistic view and focuses on collective welfare for the people and country.

Man as Political Animal

 According to Aristotle, man is a “political animal.”

o People might easily interpret this as something that refers to intrinsic desire of every
human being to lead or govern.
o Similar to being a social animal, humans come together and form a political body.
o The creation of the political body is intended for the attainment of a good life.
 For instance, the city-state, which originates from the Greek word “polis” is understood as the
highest and the humans, like animals, intrinsically work together to achieve a common goal.
 Like saying “No man island,” humans are interconnected and must work together.

Are Politics Necessary?

 In Making decisions, it makes a big difference on each individual that would affect them as
group of families, loved ones, universities that you want to attend, how properties are to be
fairly distributed, examinations and etc.
 The government decides where to construct overpass or diversion roads, what cars are
allowed on the main roads on particular times and days.
 A single decision that affects all members of the group or an individual.
 Not everyone's actions adhere to general policy set by the group one is part of.
  The formulation of a general policy for a group of people constitutes politics, and the
questions about these policies are political questions that affect both personal and public
interest.

Political Culture

 Political culture is the pattern of individual attitudes and orientation towards politics among
members of the political system (Almond & Verba, 1965).

Characteristics of Philippine Political Culture

 Every Filipino cultures includes, beliefs, feelings, group-accepted practices, language, and
paraphernalia shared by groups of Filipinos in their production, allocation, and usage of
political powers alongside the interaction with the state (Montiel, 2000).
1) Dominance of family ties or kinship system
o Political dynasties usually control the government. In the Philippines where
consanguinity (blood relations) is given the utmost importance, it does not
matter even if a political candidate is inefficient, immoral or corrupt. This is
because the family is seen to function collectively, having shared values and
beliefs.
o Ritual kinship or the kumpadre system where the sacredness of baptism or
sacrament of marriages used to get favors is evident in politics. Politicians are
called to act as a godfathers or godmothers in baptism or marriage for mutual
benefit. The inaanak (godchild) looks at his or her ninongs or ninangs
(godparents) as possible connections in political affairs while godparents
looks out their godchildren as investments to remain in power.

2) Euphemism
o Officials and employees in lower positions are not straightforward in
criticizing officials of higher rank. They use parinig or patutsada instead of
immediately addressing or confronting the officials about the issues in their
area. Rather they value their relationships with the officials for they are afraid
that their criticism might offend the officials. Thus, the issue are not given
immediate attention.
3) Utang na loob (Debt of Gratitude)
 o Citizens often disregard the impact of their votes to public interest when they
elect corrupt and incompetent officials just because they feel indebted to
them as payment for utang ng loob.
o Filipinos are often heard saying, “Malaki and utang na loob natin kay
Mayor. Kung hindi dahil sa kanya, wala sana tayong madadaanang tulay
ngayon.” Such perception leads to re-election of some officials when, in fact,
the budget for the construction of such projects come from the national
budget sourced from people’s taxes.
4) Sense of Over dependency
o Some constituents rely on an elected official or a “patron” politician for their
personal and economic needs. The attitude of over dependency also manifests
when citizens and/or lower-ranked employees wait for orders rather than take
initiative or be active participants in policy making
5) Belief that majority of politicians are corrupt
o The term buwaya (crocodile) has been used to describe corrupt politicians in
the Philippines signifying their greed for money and power. “Pag may
semento, may porsiyento,” “Bigay Ikaw Regalo (BIR),” or “kulang lang ng
padulas”, are common phrases usually heard in government activities and
projects. “Wala naming pulitikong hindi kurakot” shows public perception
anchored towards the political idea that it is evil for many politicians value
more the money they can get instead of being good public servants.
6) Lack of Political maturity
o Some people elect based on popularity and personality but not on the
performances or skills in a platform. It seems some people take interests of
entertainments rather than the serious presentation of platforms and plans for
the benefit of the country.
o Politics is no long limited to individuals with backgrounds in political science
and law, even celebrities are now able to hold positions in office by sheer
popularity.

Establishing a Democratic Culture

 Culture is defined as the way of life with customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits
of a racial, religious, or social groups.
 Culture has two major elements:
o Material
 o Non-Material
 A system of government is part of the nation’s non-material culture.
 Democracy is a system of government in which all citizens are eligible members of the state
where Sovereign power belongs to the people. It is expected that there is rule of the majority,
human rights are protected, and the rule of law is upheld.
 These features of democracy have been part of Filipino nation’s culture from the time this
system was adopted. In fact, the very first principle states that “The Philippines is a
democratic and republican state” on 1987 Philippine Constitution.
 Democratic Culture has been inherited as a way of life for Filipinos and it was inculcated by
nation’s Heroes before the arrival of Americans.
 Elections and Majority rules have been practiced and was first declared in the Philippines, the
Biak-na-Bato, republic before it was formally first embodied in the Philippine Constitution.
 Throughout Philippine history, democracy was subdued from years of colonization to the
martial law period (1972-1986). However, Filipinos are known to fight for their rights.
 They knew that suppressing of rights is running through liberated-loving people and dying,
sacrificing to reclaim or revive their rights in order for democracy to be restored.
 It is important that the Filipino cherish the basic features of democracy.
 First is the Rule of the Majority.
o In choosing leaders and in political processes, whether the decision of the majority is
correct or not, it is the people who will suffer from the consequences of their
decisions.
o Vox populi, Vox dei translated as “the voice of the people is the voice of God,”
justifies that the decisions made by the people are blessed by the will of a higher
being.
 The SECOND basic feature of democracy is the protection of the human rights.
o “The States values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for
human rights.”
o It is important that citizens are aware of basic human rights such as the right to life in
order to prevent from being inflicted by other individual.
o Basic human rights should be enjoyed by all citizens regardless of financial status,
ethnic identity, political beliefs, gender or religion.
 The LAST feature is upholding the rule of law.
o Most legal practitioners often say, democracy should be under the rule of law and not
the rule of men.
 o Loyalty to the constitution and adherence to the law should be the guiding light for
law enforcement agencies and judicial branch of the government in making policies
and decisions.
o The utang ng loob culture in politics should be set aside to allow the rule of law to
reign.
o Let law and conscience be the guide for officials on how they should act, who hold
the political power. Thus, citizen should serve as watchdogs.

Ideal Citizen

 CITIZENSHIP – a status of being a legal number of a nation-state where anyone can easily
claim that he/she is a citizen of the nation.

 When identifying what makes a person a citizen of one state, one has to look at the
Constitution in determining how one becomes a citizen of a nation.

o If a child’s parent are citizens of a country, then the child must follow the citizenship
of his/her parents.

o If a particular person is born in a particular country, he or she becomes a citizen in a

particular country or undergoes the legal process of NATURALIZATION.

 The concept of REAL self and IDEAL self is introduced in the previous lessons:

o Real self – an individual feels to be most true to what and who she/he really is.

o Ideal self – an ideal self is the self-one aspires to be or influenced by one’s

experiences/ aspirations in the environment he or she is situated in.

What constitutes an ideal citizen?

 An Ideal Citizen can be a person who follows the laws, protects and takes care of the
environment, and contributes to the welfare of the other people. They hold responsibilities –
duties that shapes better society.

 Article XIV, Section 3, Paragraph 2 of the Philippine Constitution identifies the qualities
expected of citizens to posses and creating ideal citizens.
 o It states that an ideal citizen is patriotic and nationalistic, fosters love of humanity,
respects for human rights, spiritual values, ethical and roles that has good moral
character and personal discipline.

Governance

 Governance is defined as the traditions and institutions that determine how authority is
exercised in a particular country.

o The process by which governments are selected and monitored.

o The capacity of governments to manage resources, formulate and enforce sound

policies and regulations

o Respect of citizens and the state for institutions that govern economic and social
interactions. (Kaufmann, Kraay & Zoido-Lobataon, 2000)

Good Governance

 In 1994, British Prime Minister John Major created a Committee on Standards to proper
outline behavior by public servants.

 In the first report, the committee’s first released the Nolan Principles, named after the first
committee’s first chairman, Lord Michael Nolan.

o The principles aim to eliminate corruption in the government.

o The seven Nolan principles or seven principles are objectivity, openness and
leadership.

Nolan Principles or 7 principles

These principles are applied to Philippine setting.

1) Selflessness
o Caring for what people need and want instead of personal interests. Public service is
nothing else but serving people.
2) Objectivity
 o being neutral and free from biases. Decisions must be on verifiable data and
evidences for transparency and impartiality.
3) Integrity
o Maintaining good name and character. Ethical standards and public services are good
examples to their constituents. They have to free themselves from illegal practices,
corruptions and immoral activities.
4) Honesty
o Telling the truth, nothing to hide and transparency. Honesty is usually measured in
accuracy and truthfulness of their SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net
Worth).
5) Accountability
o It means being liable and responsible for one’s actions. The Constitution states that
the sovereignty resides in the people and all government powers emanate from them.
6) Openness
o Being full transparent with whatever information on handles. To free from false
accusations and to inform the public about the situation in the government, the
Constitution mandates full public disclosure of all government transactions and
public interests (Article II, Section 28 of 1987 Philippine Constitution).
7) Leadership
o leading the way for development that would benefit to all. Every leader knows how to
manage and run the government service but the most quality is professional
competence. A leader is visionary who thinks of the future of the nation and
maintains healthy relations to other states.

Filipino Values

 These are traits form part of the socio-anthropological self of the Filipino and formed part of
Filipino identity. Below are POSITIVE and NEGATIVE Filipino values.
 POSITIVE FILIPINO VALUES:
o Bayanihan – practice of the spirit of kinship and camaraderie. It is observed
whenever a helping hand is extended to accomplish a task as group.
o Damayan – This is characterized by providing assistance to the families affected by
unfortunate events.
o Familism or Close Family Ties – Filipinos are known to prioritize the welfare of
family members. The families of their children will be taken care by their elderly
because of strong family ties.
 o Optimism – An attitude of positivity or all ways to be happy and maintain positive
outlook even in times of calamities.
o Hospitality – Filipinos are identified as friendly and polite people, accommodating to
other people or Fellow people.
o Regionalism – Filipinos have this attitude of giving more priority to their province
mate.
o Flexibility – The ability to adapt or conform to the expectations or will of other
people to achieve smooth and harmonious relationship.
o Religious – Characterized by strong faith and submission to the supreme being.
o Respect for Elders – Show of courtesy towards elderly. This is manifested in the act
of pagmamano and say po and opo when talking older is a sign of respect.
o Remedyo Attitude – Filipinos are known for being creative and resourceful. This is
characterized by their ability to find usefulness in things or recycling.
o Matiyaga – It is known for their gift and strong determination in every undertaking.
o Utang na Loob – The feeling of gratitude, recognition of one’s indebtedness and
obligation to repay someone who has extended assistance.
 NEGATIVE FILIPINO VALUES
o Bahala na Attitude – Leaving to fate and luck the outcome of a certain scenario.
o Colonial Mentality or Blue-Seal Mentality – A trait that is giving praise to foreign
products and treating local as low in quality.
o Crab Mentality – A Filipino attitude born out of jealousy and insecurity in attempt to
anchored down for those who are ahead of them.
o Euphemistic – A Filipino attitude of not being on point so as to prevent from
offending another person.
o Filipino Time – An attitude among Filipinos through lack of punctuality.
o Gaya-gaya Attitude – Copying or imitating others’ ideas, work, product, business,
fashion and trends.
o Jackpot Mentality – Mentality by an “Instant millionaire” or rather engaged in fast
ways of acquiring money in occasions.
o Belief in Kapalaran – A Filipino trait of believing and accepting that one’s fate is
already written in the stars. A practice of going to fortune – tellers or palm – readers
just to earn affirmation of their beliefs rather than pursuing their goals.
o Manana Habit – Phrase of “Mamaya na” means “I’ll do it later,” an attitude by
stalling on doing tasks.
o Ningas Kugon – Characterized by the attitude of being enthusiastic only at the
beginning of an endeavor and slowly decreased when concerns starts to pile up.
 o Oversensitivity – It is inability of some Filipinos to withstand and accept criticism or
negative comments.
o Pakikisama – A Filipino attitude of always adhering or submitting to the will of the
group they are part of.
o Lack of Sprtsmanship – An attitude of Filipino that cannot seem to accept defeat.
o Tsamba lang Attitude – It is characterized by refusal to take the credit for one’s own
accomplishments.

MODULE 11: DIGITAL ASPECT OF SELF

Introduction: Digital Self

 Facebook is a social media platform where an individual expose their personal information
that is seen on their Facebook profile whether the user’s information contains the truth or not.

 The information, events, ideas or thoughts that a person update their status in social
networking sites represents how he/she wants to be perceived in virtual space.
Digital Self

 The “self” that is presented in online platforms can be regarded as the “extended self.”
 Belk(1998) presented the concept of “extended self” 25 years ago , when the internet was
being developed.
 Now days because of the many developments of Technologies, the possibilities of self-
extension have never been so extensive

Digital self: I, Me, Myself and my online identity

 In online social media platforms especially their profile pictures, images can be represented as
their projected images – these is how your friends want themselves to be seen.
 It can be taken in a famous place, their loved ones, pets, pictures with famous personality or a
particular character/icon.
 Their profile pictures taken from their favorite places, famous cities, with their families,
popular personalities, pets, animations/heroes are projecting their adventurous side, bragging
having gone to these places, a loving responsible person(mother, father, son/daughter), animal
lovers or they might want to be identifies with the personality of a animated
characters/heroes.
 People’s profile pictures represents to signify many things about them/ a certain character.
Whatever reasons they may have behind these profile pictures are definitely influenced of
how they want to be perceived by the viewers on social media.

Front and back stages of the self

 In Goffman’s “dramaturgical” theory, he claimed that life is a series of performances where

people enacts the presentation of self on a daily basis.

 The theory presents social life as stage where all are actors and audiences members and how
interaction and presentation are contextual time where locations are the outcome of a certain
behavior.

 In a theater, there are front and back stages. In front stages occurs when an individual’s
performances can openly seen by the audiences, while in the backstage can be linked to what
individual would like to be kept hidden or confidentiality.

 Humans as a social beings are conscious of how they present themselves to others.
  Performing one’s identity means there are aspect of the self that can not be easily seen.
Otherwise it may be embarrassing for someone if he/she is to disclose information that he/she
wants to keep.

Digital self

 In today’s technologies, images can be manipulated by recreating himself or herself digitally

through filters, photography or Photoshop skills where anything is possible. Though one’s
physical appearances produce indefinite authentic self.

 One’s “digital self” consists of how one expresses himself/herself in various social media
platforms.

 It is a right or a liberty of an individual to use images of their icons as their profile or maybe it
will be seen as one way of addressing their unfulfilled dreams. Other’s might consider it as
lack of acceptance and gratitude for their physical appearance and characteristics because of
not being contented and moral implication.

Don’t(s) in an Online Platforms

 Inappropriate/ Revealing images.

o These kinds of pictures should be kept private and secured. It will be taken as an
advantage for others to use/spread the images without your knowledge.
 Pictures or a video with personal moments with loved ones.
o People showing affections towards their loved one’s like kissing and intimate
moments/activities and should not divulged in online platforms.
 Pictures or videos with bad behaviors
o These are picture/videos showing a person dinking liquor and being intoxicated,
cigarettes, gambling or showing their indecency to brag and inform one’s vices to the
public to present he/she is proud of their habits.
 Negative comments on others.
o It can be unfair or damaging to another person’s reputation/attitudes. It is unethical to
criticize the person online for it is open to everyone else to be seen and posted
without knowledge of the person one is referring to. This is considered crime of
slander.
 Posting conflicts with other people.
 o Conflicts with other people does not resolve anything by posting them online but the
best way of resolving these conflicts is to face them without any screens between.
 Posts of the results of a particular competition with the names of defeated participants.
o Everyone has the right to present online their achievements or success but it is
indecent to display and inform the world the failure of other people. It can cause an
impact of their psychological wellbeing.
 Comments showing strong opposition to certain issues.
o An individual is free to express his/her thoughts and opinions on a certain topic or
issue, but there are certain expressions can offend other people. Social media can be a
avenue to express one’s view on a certain issues, there is no assurance that other
people on social media will be open-minded.
 Comments with foul, vulgar, indecent and offensive words.
o A Person’s response reflects who he or she is and it has nothing to do with one he or
she responding to.
 Pictures or videos revealing one’s financial status.
o One must be careful in posting/ revealing about their finances for it may put you at
security risks.
 Pictures or Videos showing family trips.
o Posting too much pictures about gatherings or family events may also pose security
risk that will attract criminals or unwanted chaos.
 Pictures or Videos displaying one doing good deeds.
o Showing or posting one’s doing a good deed can be a moment to be proud of but it
will be misleading to take photos of such deeds that focuses more on the doer of the
good deed instead of the deed itself.
 Pictures or videos in hospitals.
o Taking photos inside the hospital whether it’s a part of a hospital, a patient that is
your relative or family, taking photos in the hospital is against the law.
 Posts of every single thing you do.
o Social media is not a diary can be writes down every single moment you do every
day. People who post every detail of their actions of what they do in daily life basis
may show that they lack self-esteem that needs approval/ seeking public recognition
which is a sign of low self-esteem.

Dichotomies of the self

  There are three crucial domains where traditional boundaries between the dichotomies of self
become increasingly blurred. These domains are producer or consumer, offline versus online,
and body versus technology.
 Producer or Consumer – Do your material possessions define who you are?
 Offline vs. Online – Will there be a consistency between what is seen online and what is
perceived offline?
 Body vs. Technology – Technology and consumerism allow people to easily redefined and
recreate themselves.

Are you a Responsible Netizen?

 With the rampant use of the internet, specifically social media, there are issues that need to be
recognized and thus be addressed. Here are some issues to be addressed if an individual wants
to give justice as a responsible netizen.
1) Sharing Fake News
o “Think before you click.” Lately, social media has been teeming with fake news
– malicious content that tends to speak ill of certain issues.
2) Cyberbullying
o people bully other people online because they feel that they can do so as online
interaction is different from face-to-face. One form of cyberbullying is bashing
which can do damage to an individual’s psychological well-being.
3) Sharing Viruses
o There are users share viruses to damage one’s reputation or for fun. These viruses
represent themselves as pornographic content which makes users take interest in
opening such malicious links.

How to Fight Social media addiction?

 If you are spending more than 3 hours of your time every day on social media, then you are
considered as a social media addict user. To fight off your addiction, here are the lists that you
can try to take away your eyes on digital platforms.
1) The maximum time of using social media platform is less than 3 hours or the lesser the
better. Take control of you time before it controls you.
2) Do not participate political issues discussions, it is time consuming and never ending.
You might spend more time arguing and persuading people to accept your stand.
3) Do not post daily activities for the sake of the “likes” or positive comments. Enjoy
hobbies without screens in between.
4) Read books instead of spending time reading news, articles, and issues on social media.
5) Spend time to communicate personally.
6) “unfriend” or “unfollow” when friends shows no care and concern for you or whom you
do not interact with.