Self-transformation online through alternative presentations of self
This paper maps two dominant approaches to the causal function of self-transformation in digital communication technologies: the discursive approach and the embodiment approach. The paper draws on old and new technologies from text-based chat to VR avatars in an attempt to map out differences and inconsistencies between these two analytic approaches. it takes as its starting point the claim that acting as an alternate self online incurs alterations to mind, behaviours, and concepts of self.
Related Readings
"Virtual Relationships: The Dancer and the Avatar"
A fascinating essay on the effects (and affects) of new motion capture technology, visual rendering and VR and AR interfaces on choreographic practice and the interrelation between dancer and avatar.
Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human
In many ways, Boellstorff set the ground for thinking about social relations in virtual worlds in his 2-year fieldwork in Second Life. Of particular interest to this project are the chapters on space and personhood. Defining place and defining being in place.