I chose to use Second Life. The girl next door was an easy choice. First of all, she was definitely the best looking. Second of all, The Girl Next Door is one of my favorite movies, and my avatar resembled Elisha Cuthbert. Getting used to this virtual reality was no easy task. I had trouble with the tutorials that taught you how to speak, move, interact, and change your appearance. I was excited to really get into this assignment, and use my self-presentational skills in order to act like my avatar. However, that never really happened for two reasons.
Firstly, I was really taken aback by the extensiveness of the rules of the virtual reality that is second life. It was clear to me that there was more to the Leviathan in this environment than just a mere raised eyebrow. Things that college kids may consider humorous could easily get you kicked off second life, and that deterred me from acting as outlandish as I was planning. Second, because I had never played an online video game with other people, I was shocked and amazed at how close the interactions were to real life. Now, of course there are some major differences (for one I can not see the person I am interacting with which creates anonymity, and for another, I never have to interact with these people again), but overall I felt myself struggling with the same social dilemmas I do on a day-to-day basis. I felt awkward initiating conversations, I was shy, unsure, and overanalyzed each syllable I wrote in the chat box before shouting it to the second life environment. These qualities stem from my own personality, not that of my avatar (Elisha Cuthbert). What began as a journey to free myself from self imposed social constraints became a typical interaction while wearing a pretty mask. While the social norms are not the same on second life as they are in the real world, they are similar, and as such, anonymity can only go so far in terms of encouraging someone to act more aggressively and confidently. This experience is a clear departure from the article by Yee and Bailenson, and does not support their 'Proteus Effect’
The Proteus Effect asserts that individuals act how they believe others would expect them to. Thus, my gorgeous girl next door should not have been unsure, awkward, and out of place as I acted during my experience. I am sure that If I had spent more time in second life, and become more well versed in the environment, that such confidence would carry over to my behavior and I would begin acting more like my avatar. However, in just an hour it is difficult for one to shed their own insecurities and present a more dominant strong willed version of ourselves. Throughout my experience on second life, I felt like the identity that would be associated with my avatar was a facade that I could not substantiate through conversations with others. Despite picking an avatar that looked nothing like myself, my girl next door was unable to conjure the dominant, provocative, and risk taking persona that Elisha displayed in the movie The Girl Next Door.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Jason,
This is an interesting post to read. I too chose Second Life to participate in and chose an avatar of the opposite gender. I wonder what your reasoning was for picking the opposite gender? When reading about how you still have insecurities in Second Life even though it was a virtual environment is also interesting to hear. I actually had the opposite experience where I felt because it was not face to face, I could be more outgoing and confident.
The Proteus Effect directly related to my reaction to the game where as it did not for you. I wonder if that has to do with our personality or opinion towards Second Life? It would be interesting to compare our experiences and opinions more to see why exactly Yee & Bailenson article applied to me so much better than for your experience. Other than that it was great to see that there were people who chose the same types of options but had different outcomes.
Post a Comment