Let me start off by saying that I thoroughly dislike Second Life. I thought its graphics were poor and overrated (from what people have been saying I was expecting much more advanced technology). In creating my avatar, I found there were not many appearances to choose from, which I thought was restrictive. I also thought that there was no purpose to the game and I was bored out of my mind.
Okay – now that I’ve got that off my chest…
The only games I play online are simple ones, like Bejeweled, the Helicopter Game, and Text Twist. They are easy to learn, don’t require you to go through training, and relatively short. Second Life was not anything like that. After downloading all the software onto my computer, I created an avatar account. Most of the first few names I tried out were already taken (which shows the popularity of this program, especially because my names were atypical). Eventually I created a character dubbed “Lexie McDonnell. Yes, I know, it sounds kind of like a porn star’s name, but oh well. Next, I picked out an outfit for her that was called “the girl next door”.
After I finished creating my avatar, I was transported to Orientation Island. There were a few people there where I was first teleported, but not too many. One person called out my name in greeting, but I hadn’t yet figured out how to respond to them, so I displayed some fantastic online etiquette and just walked away from them.
After spending way too much time at the hub of Orientation Island, I went to the transportation section of the island to learn some basic Second Life skills: how to drive a car and (gasp!) fly. There was only one other avatar there, a tough looking girl, and when I got too close to her, she told me to get out of the way, and she pushed me. Since I didn’t know what to do, I decided to talk to her (somehow I figured it out after half an hour – yay for me). I asked her if she knew where the flying institute was, and immediately her tone changed. She told me that she was looking for the same place, and together, we ventured out into the lackluster world of Second Life, and eventually found the flying institute.
Once I learned how to fly and I had left my new avatar lady friend, I decided to quit the game. I just wasn’t having fun, and thought I better get on writing my blog.
According to the Proteus theory (Lee and Bailenson), “users in online environments may conform to the expectations and stereotypes of the identity of their avatars…in line with self-perception theory, they conform to the behavior that they believe others would expect them to have.”
I can’t honestly say I experienced the Proteus Effect. I think the only way that the Proteus Effect would be relevant to Second Life is to people who spend a copious amount of time on the program. These people probably spend a lot of time trying to establish a reputation on the net that they don’t have in real life. They probably try to typify people they would like to be in real life, and shape their avatar around those ideal qualities. For example, according to the Proteus theory, players with attractive avatars were hypothesized to walk closer to other players and have a higher frequency of self disclosure. When I walked too close to the avatar I ended up talking to, I did that because I didn’t know what else to do to communicate. Lexie McDonnell was an attractive avatar, but her physical attributes had nothing to do with me choosing to walk so close to another avatar.
Okay – now that I’ve got that off my chest…
The only games I play online are simple ones, like Bejeweled, the Helicopter Game, and Text Twist. They are easy to learn, don’t require you to go through training, and relatively short. Second Life was not anything like that. After downloading all the software onto my computer, I created an avatar account. Most of the first few names I tried out were already taken (which shows the popularity of this program, especially because my names were atypical). Eventually I created a character dubbed “Lexie McDonnell. Yes, I know, it sounds kind of like a porn star’s name, but oh well. Next, I picked out an outfit for her that was called “the girl next door”.
After I finished creating my avatar, I was transported to Orientation Island. There were a few people there where I was first teleported, but not too many. One person called out my name in greeting, but I hadn’t yet figured out how to respond to them, so I displayed some fantastic online etiquette and just walked away from them.
After spending way too much time at the hub of Orientation Island, I went to the transportation section of the island to learn some basic Second Life skills: how to drive a car and (gasp!) fly. There was only one other avatar there, a tough looking girl, and when I got too close to her, she told me to get out of the way, and she pushed me. Since I didn’t know what to do, I decided to talk to her (somehow I figured it out after half an hour – yay for me). I asked her if she knew where the flying institute was, and immediately her tone changed. She told me that she was looking for the same place, and together, we ventured out into the lackluster world of Second Life, and eventually found the flying institute.
Once I learned how to fly and I had left my new avatar lady friend, I decided to quit the game. I just wasn’t having fun, and thought I better get on writing my blog.
According to the Proteus theory (Lee and Bailenson), “users in online environments may conform to the expectations and stereotypes of the identity of their avatars…in line with self-perception theory, they conform to the behavior that they believe others would expect them to have.”
I can’t honestly say I experienced the Proteus Effect. I think the only way that the Proteus Effect would be relevant to Second Life is to people who spend a copious amount of time on the program. These people probably spend a lot of time trying to establish a reputation on the net that they don’t have in real life. They probably try to typify people they would like to be in real life, and shape their avatar around those ideal qualities. For example, according to the Proteus theory, players with attractive avatars were hypothesized to walk closer to other players and have a higher frequency of self disclosure. When I walked too close to the avatar I ended up talking to, I did that because I didn’t know what else to do to communicate. Lexie McDonnell was an attractive avatar, but her physical attributes had nothing to do with me choosing to walk so close to another avatar.
5 comments:
Rachel, I completely agree that our own lives are a lot better, I had the same experience! You make a really good point that the people who experience the Proteus Effect are addicted players who seek to create a reputation for themselves. Users with an attractive character may feel pressure to be extra social to stay in character, role playing rather than being oneself. I also believe that behavioral confirmation plays a significant role in acquiring an avatar's personality. Confirmation reinforces a user's need to stay in character and maintain their perceived expected reputation.
All of this directly contradicts the Proteus Effect, which eliminates behavioral confirmation and reports immediate effects. However, I believe their study is invalid and doesn't apply to online games, where one's reputation to other players becomes more important over time compared to the awkward one-on-one interaction in the virtual environment used in the study. The study and online games are in completely different contexts, and the results aren't completely relevant to online games.
Great post, Rachel. Like you, I too got a little miffed after trying Second Life. I thought it was ugly, slow, boring - and it crashed my computer twice, before I decided to give it up and hijack my friend's World of Warcraft account.
I agree with your statement that people must initially commit to the virtual reality and learn its contours before they begin to exhibit the Proteus Effect.
I also believe that people who are more inclined to role playing and who invest more in this online persona will probably act more in line with the preconceived social expectations of their appearance. Similarly, people with less to lose in this online reality, will probably exhibit greater social freedom and will act however they feel like acting (see my blog post).
I knew this was your blog as soon as I saw that you mentioned Bejeweled at the beginning! I agree with you that someone would have to spend a lot of time on Second Life to experience the Proteus Effect. I also thought that it was hard to see the Proteus Effect here because, at least for me, I had read the Yee and Bailensen article in advance so I don't really know if my actions were biased because of this.
Did you think the same?
I agree with your second life experience. I felt like the graphics were not amazing and it was frustrating that you had to go through the whole orientation tutorial before you were allowed on the main island. The help island I was transported to didn't have many people either. I then asked one of the instructional avatars where I could find more people, and they transported me to a more populated island.
One thing that could make your post stronger is by clarifying that the Proteus Effect applies to the attractiveness of your own avatar not others.
For example, you write, "Lexie McDonnell was an attractive avatar, but her physical attributes had nothing to do with me choosing to walk so close to another avatar." The way I understood the Proteus Effect was the attractiveness of your avatar matters in how you act, not the attractiveness of those you interact with.
Danielle
I believe that in regards to the way you feel about Second Life there are many others that feel similarly. You wrote that you didn’t really feel that the Proteus Effect applied to you, and that the only people that are really affected by it are those who spend abnormal amounts of time in the game. I tend to agree and noted a similar observation in my blog.
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