REALITY AS ABSTRACTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE According to Kimberly Rosenfield (2015) different types of abstraction can be mapped on a continuum. - Real-life Reality - Simulation - Augmented Reality - Virtual Reality - Hyperreality Types of abstractions (reality) according to Rosenfield (2015): 1.Real-Life reality - A reality outside the cyberspace; face-to- face interaction; a life away from digital devices. Types of abstractions (reality) according to Rosenfield (2015): 2. Simulation - An abstraction that copy reality as close as it can. - Examples: Facebook’s 360-degree view features, virtual tours /virtual museums. 3. Augmented Reality -a real-life reality interweaved with the unreal. Examples: Pokemon Go craze, Snapchat filters 4. Virtual Reality -an abstraction completely detached from real-life reality. Virtualization- the complete assimilation into virtual societies that exist outside the confines of the real world Examples: Open World (Sandbox games)5. Hyperreality- it is a state of mind; the inability to distinguish the real from unreal. “It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hypperreal” Jean Baudrillard DISINHIBITION IN THE CYBERSPACE John Suler (2004) argued that a there is now a phenomenon called “online disinhibition effect” – or the removal of social inhibitions and/or restrictions imposed upon people’s behavior when engage in the web. THE DISINHIBITION IN THE CYBERSPACE Causes of Online Disinhibition: 1. Dissociative anonymity (“People Don’t Know Me”) -anonymity that results into carefree/ careless, unfiltered virtual behavior. 2. Invisibility (“People Can’t See Me”) - Since you are invisible, you can alter your personality. In hiding yourself you are freeing yourself from the baggage of having to present yourself as you truly are. 3. Asynchronicity (“See you when I see you”) -you have the luxury of time delay in the virtual world. -it removes the pressure of real-world communication. 4. Solipsistic Introjection (“It’s all in the Mind”) -Since communication is through typewritten words, the words are filtered through you thus you are less intimidated in communicating, thinking that it is all happening in your own personal psychic domain. This explains why some people are more ‘talkative’ online than in person. 5. Dissociative Imagination (“It’s all a play”) - the belief that online interaction is a game whose rules you can easily break without implications. - Our ability to create an alter ego online, gives other people the bravery to do deviant things online.: 6. Minimization of Status and Authority (“Your Rules Don’t Work Online”) online people are perceived to be equal. The playing field is equal so no one have the unanimous clout over others. SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines has the fastest growing internet population in Southeast Asia. - The rise is attributed to social networking. - Majority of the Filipinos use the internet primarily for social networking. - The Filipino youth are the biggest users of social networking in the past few years.