For this assignment I decided to try out the graphical game, Second Life. We have spoken about it so much in class that I figured I should find out what all the hype is about. After about 3 hours of computer problems and download malfunctions, I finally got the game to work. Upon entering the virtual world, I was immediately surprised with how advanced it was. Although it did not look like reality, the environment was still impressive. There were volcanoes, buildings, an ocean, and (as I was definitely surprised to see) flying people all over the place. I proceeded through many of the tutorials, learning how to communicate with others, move about the lands, and change my appearance. This last one proved to be the most intensive for me. I spent almost 20 minutes changing my appearance in order to make the most attractive avatar I could. I was so enthralled, in fact, that I didn’t even notice when another user was asking me a question over and over. When I finally snapped out of my trance, I caught the phrase, “He probably isn’t paying attention because he has spent the last ten minutes changing his appearance”. Needless to say, even though it is a virtual world and I was anonymous, I was still embarrassed.
After making my way through the tutorials and into the “Help Islands”, I was able to purchase different clothes, try out different modes of transportation, and talk to more people. In one location I was asked by a female avatar if I was one of the guides in the game. I told her that I wasn’t and that I was new to the game. She told me that she was too and we spoke about the experience together for a few minutes. I found it very interesting that the other users and I were so comfortable talking to one another even though we didn’t know each other.
After reading Yee and Bailenson, I can definitely see how my choice of avatar affected how I behaved in the game. When I edited the appearance of my avatar, Logan Knoller, I attempted to make him as “good looking” as possible. I made him tall, muscular, and with pleasing facial features. My behavior would accurately be described by the Proteus Effect, in that I found that I conformed to the behavior that I believed others would expect me to have (Yee and Bailenson, 4). I was more confident and suave in the game, initiating conversations with people I didn’t know and taking a more certain tone.
Additionally the other users and my behavior proved to support Yee and Bailenson’s hypotheses. I found that other attractive avatars and I came in much closer contact with those who we were addressing, almost up in the other person’s face, while the less attractive avatars tended to stay further away. Additionally, I noticed that not only myself, but the other attractive avatars, were also much more likely to self disclose more information. For example, the avatar who addressed me to ask if I was a guide and who later became involved in a detailed conversation with me was attractive (in the game of course). Finally, although I did not enter into any negotiations, I did find that I felt more in control and confident with my taller avatar. A couple times during my game play experience a shorter avatar came into contact with me and I found myself looking down on them (both physically and figuratively). Overall, my experience was in line with Yee and Bailenson’s hypotheses and the Proteus Effect.
I commented on:
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-are-you-trying-to-have-sex-with-me.html
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-too-fat-for-friends.html
No comments:
Post a Comment