Social Self Module 3 PDF

Module 3. Unfolding the Social Self Your understanding of your inner self holds the me...

Module 3. Unfolding the Social Self Your understanding of your inner self holds the meaning of your life Click Here to Start Module 3. Unfolding the Social Self Module Objectives To discuss the how cultural, digital, and material/economic factors within one’s environments shape the social self. Further, the module aims to provide learners with a deeper understanding of themselves through a socio- cultural perspective. Module 3. Unfolding the Unit 2. The Socio-Digital Self Social Self This unit discusses the impact of social media platforms and other This module focuses on the social aspects of digital landscapes on self self representation and development. As representation. Also, the unit social beings, individuals tend to associate and tackles some of the issues on relate oneself to others. Undeniably, social interpersonal relationships in processes and systems are strong influencers virtual communities. of one’s being; thus, several of our traits and characteristics are founded on certain social Unit 3. The Material/ factors: the cultural, digital, and economic Economic Self aspects of one’s social life. This unit tackles about how we Unit 1. The Cultural Self maintain extensions of ourselves through our material goods and This unit tackles how the socio-cultural aspects maintenance of lifestyles, within (from the microsystem to macro system) influence the context of what society our development as we age and grow. values as needs and wants and what do these material goods say about ourselves and sense of self. Click Here to Begin Unit 1. The Cultural Self This unit introduces you the journey of understanding the self. This will highlight the different factors (Social, Environmental, Biological, and other life factors) that contribute to the development of self Intended learning outcomes At the end of this Unit, students are expected to demonstrate the following: 1. Explain, elaborate, and give examples of social factors that shaped the development of one’s self. 2. Create a conceptual diagram of how these social factors are intertwined and interactively influence their self. 3. Evaluate the different influences of social factors one’s self. Diagnostics  Learning Checkpoint Do you AGREE or DISAGREE?  Culture is important in the development of one’s social self.  People you don’t know do not affect your social self.  Our behavior is affected by what others think about us. We don’t care or we become reckless when people are not looking.  We can live even though we are alone in this world. Unit 1. The Cultural Self FAMILY Our development is largely influenced by membership to crucial social groups that shape various aspects of our self; from our beliefs system, values orientation, and manifest behavior. Indeed, we are born into a family and toward the end of our lives, we evaluate our self in the context of our contribution to society, quality of our social relationships, and how we have helped touch lives of people we have directly encountered. At the beginning of life, we are surrounded by our family. It is the most pervading, influential social that group that impacts our self in the entire course of development. The conceptions we hold about our world, the values we uphold in making choices and decisions, and our habits and persistent behavior have been formed in the context of our respective families. Unit 1. The Cultural Self SCHOOLS Next to family, schools form a significant part of our social self. Our world perspectives go bigger as we get exposed to more people and a formal set of standards; but this time, we are expected to meet a certain criteria of achievement and oftentimes, in collaborative learning conditions. We harness our knowledge that we get from our mentors and apply the socialization skills we got from our families in developing relationships with our school peers. The information we glean from books, lectures of our mentors, insights from our classmates are assimilated and imbibed consequently in the inner recesses of our self. Unit 1. The Cultural Self SCHOOLS Aside from one’s family and school, our communities also shape our social self to a large extent. From an anthropological and sociological perspective, our cultural beliefs and practices are influenced by what our communities and societies dictate. Values such as faith in God, respect for the elderly, task persistence & dedication, and love for our country are often the products of communal settings we belong to and societal expectations imposed on us.  Bio ecological Systems Theory (Urie Bronfenbrenner, 1935) The latest model of Bronfenbrenner’s Bio Ecological Systems of Development explains an individual’s social development, using biological, environmental, and ecological lenses. The theory explains the bidirectional influence of individual and systems to each other and posits five specific systems that shape an individual’s progress. These are: Microsystem Exosystem Chronosystem Mesosystem Macrosystem  Microsystem It refers to institutions and social groups that the individual has direct contact and interaction with, including families, peers, schools, religious institutions, and the immediate neighbourhood. Mesosystem This system refers to the interconnections among aspects of the microsystems that impact on the individual concerned. Pragmatic examples of this would include parent-teacher relationships (PTA), parent and peers connections, family and parish relations, and the like. The focus of the relationship is to the individual, as a family member and as a student.  Exosystem This system focuses on a social setting that an individual has no direct interaction within but nevertheless affects their development. An example of this could be the work setting of the parentsa; a major company decision that results to the loss of job of either parent will have a significant impact to the child. Macrosystem This system encompasses the larger cultural context in which the individual resides in. Cultural contexts may include the socioeconomic status of his country, issues of ethnicity, societal values embraced by social institutions, cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation, and media content.  Chronosystem The latest system of Bronfenbrenner’s theory focuses on patterns of environmental events, including sociohistorical events from a specific to a larger context. Graduation from college would entail changes in the social self as the individual is expected to work and contribute to family and society at large. Social events such as political rallies, elections, and other of a similar nature would also influence the social self in a very vital way. Module 3. Unfolding the Unit 2. The Socio-Digital Self Social Self This unit discusses the impact of social media platforms and other This module focuses on the social aspects of digital landscapes on self self representation and development. As representation. Also, the unit social beings, individuals tend to associate and tackles some of the issues on relate oneself to others. Undeniably, social interpersonal relationships in processes and systems are strong influencers virtual communities. of one’s being; thus, several of our traits and characteristics are founded on certain social Click Here to Begin factors: the cultural, digital, and economic aspects of one’s social life. Unit 3. The Material/ Unit 1. The Cultural Self Economic SelfThis unit tackles This unit tackles how the socio-cultural about how we maintain aspects (from the microsystem to macro extensions of ourselves through system) influence our development as we age our material goods and and grow. maintenance of lifestyles, within the context of what society values as needs and wants and what do these material goods say about ourselves and sense of self. Unit 2. The Socio-Digital Self This unit discusses the impact of social media platforms and other digital landscapes on self representation. Also, the unit tackles some of the issues on interpersonal relationships in virtual communities. Intended learning outcomess At the end of this Unit, students are expected to demonstrate the following: 1. Discuss and elaborate the different concepts of the digital self. 2. Identify the different behaviors that show online disinhibition. 3. Synthesize and evaluate the different influences of social media to one’s social self. Diagnostics  Learning Checkpoint Do you AGREE or DISAGREE?  Everything we post on our social media will remain there forever.  Through the use of social media, you can feel invisible.  How we present ourselves through the use of social is the same with how we present ourselves to the real world.  There is no authority in the virtual world.  We are more confident when we cannot see the people we are talking to. The Socio-Digital Self With the rise of technology, our way of socializing has significantly changed. Before, when we wish to talk to a person, we really need to approach them personally. But now, when we want to talk to a person, whether they are near or far, they are just a social network away. One of the innovations that improved our socialization processes is the use of social media Digital Identity Sociological perspectives tell that people have “role identities”. These are the characters and the roles an individual creates as a member of a particular social position. The ‘self’, on the other hand, is the hierarchical ordering of identities by salience. It is known that the greater the commitment on an identity is, the greater the salience of this identity. Hence, salience of identity impacts behavioral choices in a situation. However, with the presence of the internet, our identity is affected. As mentioned, people tend to separate himself from his physical body while engaged in social media, thus, disembodiment. It is known that social media allows us to adopt identities independent from our bodies. Online Disinhibition Effect (Suler, 2004) When we behave differently in virtual spaces than we would in a face-to-face interactions, we loosen up, we become less restrained and we tend to express ourselves more openly. This phenomenon is known as online disinhibition There are two main categories of behavior that fall under the online disinhibition effect, the benign disinhibition and toxic disinhibition. Accordingly, the benign disinhibition includes behavior in which people tend to self-disclose more on the internet than they would in real life. Also, they tend to go out of their way to help someone or show kindness. On the other hand, toxic disinhibition includes behavior that in which people tend to use rude language, threats, and visiting places of pornography, crime, and violence on the internet. They may also go to places they might not have been to in real life. Disinhibition and Personality Managing Online Disinhibition Even though there are people who exhibit Don’t post or send anything you would be online disinhibition, it should be noted that not embarrassed for certain others to see. every person will be disinhibited in the same way or to the same level in virtual interactions. Do be careful about over-sharing. Individuals can be predisposed to being more Don’t hang out with the “wrong crowd” disinhibited based on personality. The intensity online. of a person’s underlying feelings, needs, drives Don’t hang out with the “wrong crowd” and the likes affect susceptibility to online offline. disinhibition as well. Do consider your emotional state before virtually posting or responding to anything. Even though not all online disinhibitions are Do consider the reaction individuals are bad, it is better and safer for us to create a expecting from toxic disinhibition. digital footprint that is worth looking at. The Do search for yourself online. following are some ways to manage our online disinhibition. Module 3. Introduction to Unit 2. The Socio-Digital Self Understanding the Self This unit discusses the impact of social media platforms and other This module focuses on the social aspects of digital landscapes on self self representation and development. As representation. Also, the unit social beings, individuals tend to associate and tackles some of the issues on relate oneself to others. Undeniably, social interpersonal relationships in processes and systems are strong influencers virtual communities. of one’s being; thus, several of our traits and characteristics are founded on certain social factors: the cultural, digital, and economic aspects of one’s social life. Unit 1. The Cultural Self Unit 3. The This unit tackles how the socio-cultural aspects Material/Economic Self This unit tackles about how we (from the microsystem to macro system) influence maintain extensions of ourselves our development as we age and grow. through our material goods and maintenance of lifestyles, within the context of what society values as needs and wants and what do these material goods say about ourselves and sense of self. UNIT 3. The Material/Economic Self This unit tackles about how we maintain extensions of ourselves through our material goods and maintenance of lifestyles, within the context of what society values as needs and wants and what do these material goods say about ourselves and sense of self. Intended learning outcomes At the end of this Unit, students are expected to demonstrate the following: 1. Determine the different factors that contribute to one’s material self. 2. Identify needs from wants and how these are related to one’s material self. 3. Discuss the importance of the material things that one possesses and how these things contribute to the self. Diagnostics  Learning Checkpoint Do you AGREE or DISAGREE?  We can be defined based on our material possessions.  You are what you purchase.  Our possessions tell the people how rich or poor we are.  We buy products based on its significance and not on its brand.  Things that we have are all symbols of who we truly are. The Material/Economic Self While it is true that most of the material things that we possess are not the things that we need, it is equally true that what we have in our lives can tell other people who we really are. Our possessions, gadgets, properties and belongings tell a lot of ourselves. These things were chosen by us because we see ourselves in these things. The products that we purchase are the products in which we see ourselves with. For instance, the perfume you buy and wear is the perfume you think best suits you. By knowing who we are, we also need to know what we want. But the dilemma remains however, that our wants are not exactly what we need. Before we proceed with the material aspect of ourselves, we have to know first the difference between wants and needs.  Wants vs. Needs Most of us confuses wants with needs. Some people think that they are just the same. However, these two are different from each other. We have learned before that needs are the things that we cannot live without. These include food, shelter, clothing, water, air, medical care and sex. On the other hand, wants are things that we just like but not necessarily our needs. These include a new cellphone, a new car, jewelries and the likes. Regardless whether the things that we have are needs or wants, we should always remember that these things tell something about ourselves.  The Meaning of Things (Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi) Unknown to some, the things that we use, own, and surround ourselves with might accurately reflect our personality. Needless to say, the clothes that we wear, the car that we drive and the furnishings of our home, are all expressions of ourselves, even when they act as disguises rather than as reflections. It only means to say that the things that surround us are inseparable from who we are. In other words, objects or things are intimately related to the self. It is also tantamount to say that whatever material things we are having in our lives are product of our choices. This only means that the things and the product that we purchase tell a lot of stories about ourselves. Accordingly, the material environment that surrounds us is rarely neutral. It can either make our lives very chaotic in a sense that it is too random and disorganized, or it helps us to give purpose and direction to our lives. These only prove that the material things that we have are connected to who we are now. Utility and Significance in Everyday Objects (John Heskett) Aside from the association of the self and the material things that we have, we should also know the function and significance of the things that we have for ourselves. It is not enough that we know that we have a connection with our material things. It is also important to know their uses. For Heskett, there are two important things that we need to know with our material things. These are: Utility. This is concerned with how things work and serve a practical purpose. This is also concerned with efficiency derived from technological and material factors. (e.g., kitchen knife- a primary utility used as a cutting tool). Significance. This is concerned with how forms assume meaning in the ways they are used, or the roles and meaning assigned to them. It is also concerned with how objects become powerful symbols or icons of habit and ritual. As per Haskett, this can be quite separate to their function. (e.g., necklace- its function is to beautify the neck, but is significant to a person who holds a position in the society). Significance, in contrast to efficiency, has more to do with expression and meaning. However, meanings are often culturally determined. For some, even the smallest utilitarian objects are capable of embodying values. Semiotics: Objects as ‘signs’ (Roland Barthes) In this analysis, it was obvious that the object (the car) and its ‘other’ meaning were unpacked. This analysis is simply called semiotics. For Barthes, objects are not just things but are reflections of the wider lives of communities and individuals. All these suggests that objects act as a complex systems of signs which allow us to read meaning into people, places and purposes. According to Barthes, a sign has 2 elements: Signifier (its physical form - a diamond ring) Signified (the mental concept it refers to - engaged to be married) Barthes claimed that all things, verbal or visual, could be viewed as a kind of speech or ‘language’. It is then tantamount to say that objects can speak, and that even the most ordinary object might be eloquent. For example, clothes may have a simple functional meaning such as to cover and protect the body. However, this is also doubled up as signs. These jeans may construct a meaning and carry a message, which as a member of a culture, we can understand.  Module 3. Unfolding the Social Self Unit 3. The Material/Economic Self Module Assessment Check your workbook: Exercise No. 1.0 Wants and Needs, Utility and Significance, Signifier and Signified (pg. 76) Exercise No. 2.0 The Ultimate Need (pg. 77) Assignment No. 8 Metacognitive Reading Report (pg. 78) Readings: Akerlof, G. & Kranto, R. (2000). Economics and identity, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol 135 (3) (the whole article pg. 1-39) Antonova, N. (2014). Economic Identity and Professional Self-Determination, Athens Journal of Social Sciences. (the whole article pg. 1-12)