Seeing is believing

On Page 32 of Joseph Walther's article, he asks the question "Will virtual reality systems replace standard CMC?" This article was written in 1996, and to me, recent developments in ICTs seem to answer that question affirmatively. Text-based communications, while still a major part of the material exchanged over the web, are also accompanied by more images and video. As human beings, we need to make eye contact to pick up nuances of language and meaning. And text, while it gets the job done, often leaves you wondering what lies beneath.

Early attempts at communicating the delicate balance between things such as sarcasm and insult probably began with emoticons. The smiley stood for the smile on the senders face that reassured the reader that the comment was meant in jest. So the increase in multimedia messaging, and the ease with which we can video conference and upload pictures and videos are all a way of creating a reality on the Web that matches real ways of communicating: through gesture, appearance, and tone of voice.

I have never played in Second Life (is that the right term, "played in?" Or should it be "entered," or "used") but I'm interested in what one's choice of Avatar says about the person. As an aside, I'm also interested in the use of the word "Avatar" because it's a Hindi word meaning "Incarnation." It certainly seems apt for the purpose but I'm curious about how it got selected. Because the avatar is the manifestation of the player in this other world, other avatars (i.e. the players behind them) probably make assumptions about the player based on appearance. For instance, assumptions about race, gender etc. A virtual world can't be very different from the real one, with all its prejudices and biases. And what about the conscious and unconscious choices one makes in selecting one's avatar. I would certainly be tempted to pick one that's drop-dead gorgeous!

The HNM artice cites the Pew 2000 poll, that found that Americans feel that they can be more honest in email with loved ones and friends over email than they can be conversation. It suggests that rather than making us less like our embodied selves, CMC allows us the freedom to be more true to ourselves. I found myself agreeing with the idea of context playing such an important part in how we construct our identities online. Just like real life, we show what we need to of ourselves depending on the situation. In some cases the anonymity emboldens us to reveal more, in others it allows us to be the people we aspire to be.