Who Am I?

Last class we talked about "game culture," online fantasy, and the way in which a version of ourselves is embedded in our virtual avatars or "agents." These are some reflections about that.

I think the emotional impact of relationships that are forged and lived online can be just as, or sometimes more, rewarding or devastating as our person to person interactions. Our online behavior is often shaped by the rewards and sanctions that are present in the interface - which is driven by game designers, programmers and sometimes other players - while our in-person behavior is also shaped by the rewards and sanctions we experience in real life - driven perhaps by nature, systemic culture, family upbringing, media and interactions with other people.

I think that it is possible to study some social psychological tendencies via players or participants in a virtual reality. It will not always be generalizable to the real world, but sometimes it will be. In any case, it is still relevant because it is likely that the findings in one virtual environment can be generalized to similar virtual spaces - and virtual space behavior and interactions can be significant shaping experiences.

Rather than think of virtual space experience as somehow "outside" of who I am as a human being, I think of those experiences as extending my persona both online and offline. It could be a great place to experiment with behavior that is too uncomfortable or too dangerous for me to engage in real life. Just as in real life, however, caveats apply.

I think one can be "online" without being embedded in a "virtual environment," but it can still be attractively distracting. Over doing it can be in the context of time or in the context of addiction or anything that has the result of reducing our quality of life in some way. It is something to be aware of in real or virtual space.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is I think that who I am includes my virtual being as well as my real life being. Yet, I am aware that I wish to experience more with my physical being in the real world and less of the online and virtual spaces that are part of my work and play. I want to connect with nature - and I can either disconnect from this interface and go outside where the streets are muddy, the air is chilly and the flowers have died, or I can bring up Second Life online and immerse myself in a fantasy natural garden of beautiful life and light. The one may be superficially prettier, but will not fully engage my senses as the unpredictable outdoors does. I think I'll step outside this time....