Marie D. Martel ( Bibliomancienne ) reported on Saturday how one dies death real in virtual worlds. It describes how the game, World of Warcraft, is used as a " device for implementation of a funeral ritual: a ritual carried out by avatars around a pain shared by a community " .
These virtual worlds are ways to create a double / avatars to enter into relations with others (other avatars). The help of technology, the most remarkable (and noticed) is the creation in 3D space to allow avatars to move. And that troubles many people when it comes time to ask naïve questions (like "Is this good or bad?").
The realism of this space, similar in visual appearance with ours (in "real life") does not always found in "other areas" where we have our "doubles": epistolary exchange, blog, emission television where we carry also "masks"
I want to say here that I am among those who believe that human relationships go through "staging" that are not the exclusive domain of 3D virtual worlds: Twitter Facebook, email and even our trade cocktails are forms of constructing a public identity (even if less visually) where we put forward some personal characteristics and where it hides others.
"Check his image" means that we control what is allowed to flow or not in space, whether virtual or not, I think another way to "hide" and enter into relationship with others. The digital has no monopoly of "masquerade" our clothes, our makeup, the places we frequent "real life" are all facets of our personality that is staged.
Second Life, World of Warcraft, etc. involved in the same social process: they are only heavily focused on the avatar.
There is not in itself a problem to use these worlds. You can either enjoy themselves or get in touch with significant others. If there is a problem is when it is used to avoid getting real links with others. By denigrating his own personality (on the pretext that it would not be "presentable") and enhancing its double too fanciful (digital avatar that can be built or the character we create at cocktail parties), we may further weaken its chances to feel good about yourself. But I
probably talking about extreme cases, pathological, and I do not think we should stigmatize the users of these worlds because of the excessive use of some. It is true that abuse, especially among young people develop socially impossible to "real life" at a critical time in their lives. But most users have a safe and fun use of these worlds. Forms of friendship, or at least, exploratory modes of human relationships certainly provide benefits, how else to explain that they are there?
The "funeral rites" that describes Mary participates in her post the same movement. We meet where the relationship has a meaning. Sometimes it transcends worlds and links are built in "real life". At other times, the link is more "real" in the virtual.
Historically, humans love stories: one immersed in or films are immersed in books. Second Life and others offer more: a story which we live is really the hero ... Even for his own death ...
Image: Shibuya
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