Online Self-Presentation, Digital Identity & Internet Addiction: Key Concepts and Answers
Q.1 Fill in the Blanks (Based on All Units)
[10 Marks — 1 Mark Each]
- The process by which individuals create, manage, and curate their digital persona on social platforms is called online self-presentation.
- The concept of altering or narrowing one’s perception of others through filters and selective sharing in online spaces is known as “Looking through a Lens.”
- Ingratiation is a self-presentation strategy where an individual uses flattery or favors to create a positive impression.
- The factors influencing how people develop friendships or romances over the internet fall under the study of online interpersonal attraction.
- When content creators earn money directly from ad revenue splits with a platform, it is called revenue sharing.
- A primary psychological factor that lowers behavioral restraints and drives online aggression is the online disinhibition effect.
7. The state of being unidentifiable or hidden online, which frequently fuels hostile communication, is called anonymity.
8. Cyberstalking is characterized by the repeated use of digital platforms to harass, intimidate, or secretly monitor a victim.
9. Spending more than 10 hours daily on digital platforms to the detriment of real-life responsibilities is a core symptom of Internet addiction.
10. A therapeutic method frequently used to treat internet dependency by replacing maladaptive digital habits with healthy ones is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Q.2 Essay Type Questions (Detailed Answers)
Option A: Online Self-Presentation & Digital Identity
1. Core Concept of Online Self-Presentation
- Definition: The conscious or unconscious process where individuals control, shape, and curate information about themselves in digital spaces.
- Goal: To influence how external audiences perceive their personality, status, and lifestyle.
- Impression Management: Based on Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, individuals treat online platforms as a “front stage” to perform a desired persona.
2. Construction and Management of Digital Identity
- Selective Disclosure: Users highlight positive traits while omitting negative experiences, flaws, or mundane realities.
- Visual Idealization: Utilizing photographic editing, angles, and digital filters to present an optimized physical aesthetic.
- Affiliation Signaling: Showcasing specific likes, shares, group memberships, and connections to align with a particular subculture or social class.
3. Suitable Examples
- LinkedIn: Professionals use formal headshots, buzzwords, and exaggerated descriptions of workplace achievements to project competence and ambition.
- Instagram/TikTok: Influencers curate highly aesthetic, color-coordinated grids showing luxury travel or peak fitness to project a perfect lifestyle.
- Reddit/Discord: Users adopt pseudonyms and avatars to express niche interests freely without real-world social consequences.
Option B: Psychological Effects of Video Games
1. Cognitive Development
- Positive Impact: Improves spatial reasoning, mental rotation skills, visual attention, and real-time problem-solving abilities.
- Negative Impact: Excessive play can lead to reduced attention spans in non-interactive environments (like traditional classrooms) and diminished academic focus.
2. Emotional Development
- Positive Impact: Serves as a healthy tool for stress relief, emotional catharsis, mood elevation, and achieving a state of psychological “flow.”
- Negative Impact: Can trigger heightened irritability, emotional desensitization to violence, and low frustration tolerance when facing real-world challenges.
3. Social Development
- Positive Impact: Fosters teamwork, collaborative problem-solving, and global community building through multiplayer cooperative games.
- Negative Impact: Promotes social isolation, displacement of face-to-face family interactions, and exposure to toxic online gaming communities.
Q.3 Short Notes & Problems (Detailed Answers)
Option A: The Internet’s Addictive Properties
- Variable Reward Schedules: Social media notifications and gaming loot drops mimic slot machines, releasing unpredictable bursts of dopamine that reinforce compulsive checking.
- The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): The psychological anxiety that others are having rewarding experiences while the user is absent, driving constant connectivity.
- Escapism: Individuals use digital environments to cope with, avoid, or numb real-life stressors, anxiety, depression, or loneliness.
- Hyper-Stimulation: The infinite scroll and rapid-fire multimedia content overwhelm the brain’s reward system, making offline activities feel boring.
Option C: Online Aggression vs. Offline Aggression
| Feature | Online Aggression | Offline Aggression |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymity | High. Perpetrators hide behind pseudonyms, avatars, or burner accounts. | Low. The physical identity of the aggressor is immediately visible. |
| Empathic Feedback | Absent. The attacker cannot see the physical pain, tears, or distress of the victim. | Present. Immediate visual and auditory cues of human suffering can inhibit behavior. |
| Reach and Scale | Viral. Hostile content can be shared globally and permanently archived. | Localized. The aggressive act is constrained by time and immediate physical space. |
| Barrier to Entry | Low. Requires minimal effort, physical strength, or courage to post malice. | High. Demands physical presence and carries a higher risk of immediate retaliation. |
| Socio-Psychological Driver | Driven heavily by the Online Disinhibition Effect. | Driven by immediate situational triggers, physical proximity, or peer presence. |
Option B: Cyberstalking Characteristics & Prevention
1. Core Characteristics
- Persistent Surveillance: Methodically tracking a victim’s location, status updates, and digital footprints across multiple platforms.
- Harassment and Threats: Sending unsolicited, malicious, or intimidating messages to the victim or their immediate social circle.
- Identity Hijacking: Creating fraudulent profiles using the victim’s likeness to sabotage their personal or professional reputation.
2. Psychological Impact on Victims
- Hypervigilance: Living in a chronic state of fear, paranoia, and perceived vulnerability.
- Severe Trauma: Clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
3. Preventive Measures
- Strict Digital Hygiene: Lock down accounts using maximum privacy settings and limit the broadcasting of real-time locations.
- Evidence Gathering: Take timestamps and screenshots of all harassing behavior instead of engaging or arguing with the perpetrator.
- Technical Blocks: Utilize platform blocking mechanisms, report accounts, change IP addresses, and deploy robust anti-spyware software.
Option D: Case Study Solution (Compulsive Screen Time Student)
1. Identification of Psychological Issues
- Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD): Indicated by the student’s 10-hour daily screen usage and severe neglect of academic responsibilities.
- Toxic Online Disinhibition: Demonstrated by the frequent posting of abusive comments due to perceived online detachment.
- Cognitive Dissonance & Denial: Ignoring privacy settings and academic decline to maintain compulsive digital habits.
2. Actionable Management Strategies
Step 1: Manage Addiction ──► Implement Digital Detox & App Blockers
Step 2: Reduce Aggression ──► Apply Cognitive Reframing via Therapy
Step 3: Protect Privacy ──► Audit Security Settings & Anonymize Profiles
Step 4: Responsible Use ──► Establish Scheduled Offline Routines
- Managing Internet Addiction: Introduce a structured digital detox plan using application blockers (e.g., Freedom, Opal) to restrict device access during core academic hours.
- Reducing Online Aggression: Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify the root emotional triggers causing the abusive commenting, replacing digital lashing out with healthy emotional outlets.
- Protecting Online Privacy: Conduct a comprehensive privacy audit to restrict profile access, toggle location tracking off, and scrub personal identifiable details from public boards.
- Promoting Responsible Internet Use: Establish a non-negotiable routine that balances online time with mandatory real-world social activities, physical exercise, and focused study sessions.