For this assignment I attempted to learn the ways of Second Life. Having never played it, or any other MUD before, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how it worked. I completed several tutorials, went through demos, and spent an exorbitant amount of time messing around with my appearance. I was surprised at how extravagant the gamespace was. I’m not really sure what I expected, but it wasn’t what I saw.
The first thing I had to do in registering for Second Life was pick my username. I was prepared to choose some sort of screenname like “chicagogirl” or “cubsfan” but then I realized that we actually chose a first and last name. The first name could be anything I wanted, but the last name had to be chosen from a list. I found this rather restrictive. I had to follow the pre-set form, and I couldn’t even choose the name I wanted within it. I already felt as if I was being forced into a social construct and having my own identity taken from me. Once I had done that, I launched into the world of Second Life. At first, I was only allowed to pick between a few general sample avatars. This definitely had an effect on how I interacted with people at the beginning because it was obvious that I was new and I felt like this would deter people from wanting to talk to me. I saw my character as having an image of being naïve and inexperienced. I felt stupid talking to people because I didn’t think they would want to talk to someone had no idea what was going on. So instead of trying to be smart about it and positively interact with people, I wandered around aimlessly and did things that showed how inexperienced I was. This was very much in line with the Proteus Effect.
In their paper, Yee and Bailenson discuss how “users in online environments may conform to the expectations and stereotypes of the identity of their avatars. Or more precisely, in line with self-perception theory, they conform to the behavior that they believe others would expect them to have.” The first time I walked over to a group of people, multiple people messaged me and wished me a “happy birthday.” However, instead of moving forward with the conversation, I felt even more awkward because I felt this further accentuated my newness to Second Life, and would make people want to talk to me even less. Soon after this, I figured out how to change my appearance. I changed my body type and the clothes I was wearing to try to make my avatar look more attractive. I thought this would make people see me in a more positive light, and in turn give me more confidence. This is in line with Yee and Bailenson hypothesis that people with attractive avatars would exhibit more intimate behavior and higher levels of self-disclosure. Furthermore, they discuss how in order for the Proteus Effect to operate there does not have to be “actual presence of other people but simply that a person evaluates him or herself from a third-person perspective.” Even when I was wandering aimlessly through the world of Second Life, I felt awkward in my sample avatar, and more confident once I had “improved” it’s attractiveness. It was not necessary that I be by a group of people.
Overall, I think my experience in Second Life supported the findings of Yee and Bailenson. Personally though, I think I will stick to my first life.
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3 comments:
Interesting post. I think that your experience definitely bolsters Yee and Bailenson's claims regarding the Proteus Effect, but behavioral confirmation seems to have played a large role as well. When other avatars wished you a "happy birthday," it was clear that they recognized you as a novice. This reinforced your self-concept and probably caused you to confirm your status as an inexperienced user. In addition, because SL limited your avatar options, your experience was fairly similar to Yee and Bailenson's experimental setting in which avatars were assigned to subjects.
Great post! I really liked your explanation of Yee and Bailenson’s study; it helped me understand it more because you laid it out so clearly. That’s funny how people wished you a happy birthday (no one did that for me on Second Life). I have to admit that I felt awkward at first too; eventually I felt a little more comfortable. But I also still prefer my real life over Second Life.
Good and informative post! Yee and Bailenson's take on the Proteus Effect is definitely played out in your experience of Second Life. The initial awkwardness, though, and awkwardness throughout just clearly shows me that an alternate reality JUSTT doesn't fit me.
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