A Conversation in Second Life to Critically Reflect on Avatar Experience

Second Life is a form of cyber-reality where an individual can create an avatar in an online world. I created an avatar myself and found that I have become quite attached to it. To me, it depicted myself but online. I had a conversation with my lecturer and fellow students on Second Life to reflect on my avatar experience. We discussed for example, what it was like when we changed its gender:

[04:13] Maria Aura: What did you want to make the avatars look like (in the opposite gender)?
[04:13] CrystalFly: I wasnt too bothered about how i looked like in the opposite gender as it didnt reflect me
[04:13] chocolatefudge: just as simple as walking, the male avatar had a completely different stance to the female, which was different considering i was controlling it
[04:13] greenjag02: strangly like a female friend of mine
[04:14] Maria Aura: Was it more comfortable to have an avatar that is the same gender as your real life avatar?
[04:14] greenjag02: as that really offered security as i new that person so it wasnt like i was being someone completly new
[04:14] violetpixel: I wasnt really sure at first because when i created my female avatar i knew what i wanted, but when I changed it I wasnt as careful with clothing and appearance choices
[04:14] CrystalFly: It was yes
My name for Second Life was ‘Crystal Fly’. I highlighted in the conversation that because I had changed the gender of the avatar, it didn’t feel as though it was me anymore and I was not as bothered about the appearance of the avatar because I didn’t feel as connected to it. I said I was more comfortable having the gender of the avatar the same as my own because it felt strange pretending to be someone I wasn’t. I felt more comfortable with it being a female as it reflected my own behaviour and personality. However, when I was asked whether the appearance of the avatar was important to me in Second Life, I realised that I didn’t really mind how I looked in comparison to real life:

[04:14] Maria Aura: Are looks important - are they as important as in real life?
[04:15] violetpixel: I dont think so no because people are aware that all avatars arent a true representation of people themselves - and appearance in second life can be changed so easily
[04:15] greenjag02: they are more so in here as you can portray how you wish to look lik in here, however in really life you look the way you do
[04:16] greenjag02: can you cant really change that
[04:16] chocolatefudge: not as important as real life - as this can be totally anonymous whereas in the real world you would want your appearance to reflect you
[04:16] CrystalFly: I agree
[04:16] greenjag02: but it is your own personality that defines who you are
[04:16] Maria Aura: Do you think that hte media has influenced how your avatars look at all?
[04:16] CrystalFly: it's not as important and its not really me. just an online avatar

Overall, I didn’t really mind what my avatar looked like because the personality of the Second Life form was more of a factor than its appearance. I did however make it look similar to me possibly because I did feel somewhat connected to it. From the conversation, I have found that my classmates agree with me that the appearance of the avatar is not as important as in real life and that personality was the more central factor.