Animation Blog

There is always the belief that free virtual worlds have a plane of its own. It may attract real-life people but the movements, transactions, interactions and relationships in this world have rules of its own. Some think that virtual worlds should be a place where users can make their fantasies come true. Some think otherwise and believe that virtual worlds should be an exact parallel of real life – that it is just an expansion of social and creative consciousness.

Whatever the case may be, it sparks debate and that is healthy already. By raising questions, at least users are exercising their critical skills for the things happening in virtual worlds. These people just don’t accept things as they are. Or do they not? An important aspect of virtual worlds that may be ignored or taken for granted may give us a glimpse of what virtual worlds is all about: the avatars.

With their allusion to Norse mythology, avatars can be God-like in virtual worlds. They can be anything their users want them to be. For starters, avatars are the virtual representation of the user. By giving users the freedom to portray what they are in virtual worlds, administrators of virtual worlds are furthering the spark on the debate. The question then morphs into: what should the avatars represent, an abstract version of one’s fantasies or a carbon copy?

This dichotomy is an interesting case study. The tendency for users is to customize their avatars according to themselves. Thus, virtual worlds give users the freedom to choose how the avatars would look – from the size of the eyes, the color of the hair to the minutest accessory. With this template, avatars serve as a mirror of the user itself.

But there are people who go to virtual worlds to break away from the pressures and expectations of society. Under the guise of anonymity, this type of people creates avatars which are totally different from how their attributes are. It is a form of self-expression – or its opposite because it is a mask of that person. These users can choose whatever personality they want for themselves.

Given these dynamics of avatars in virtual worlds, there is a dilemma. Just what kind of value should we put in avatars? We can always assume that whatever is depicted in the avatar’s profile are just inventions of its user – so there should not be much responsibility for these avatars. On the other hand, everything that is done to the avatar by the user – whether trying to mask one’s self or not – has an imprint of the user. All things that will be done to avatars can be considered as a signature of the user already.

The safe thing to do is to take everything in virtual worlds with a grain of salt. This critical approach can be beneficial for detecting those who are involved in cyber crimes, sexual predation and online pornography. However, don’t overdo the grain – of – salt approach to virtual worlds. While we advise you not to go all-out with not believing with what avatars say of themselves, it is sometimes best to give the benefit of the doubt. Not everything in virtual worlds is junk anyway. There are true people there exchanging real and insightful conversations.

Thus, whether users want to be one with their avatars or schizophrenic with it, that is their choice. Just remember that because virtual worlds are a parallel to real life, there are also shades of gray. So a choice you make may not be a clear cut right or wrong decision. It’s just as it is.