Identity to Fit the Environment : The Creation of Avatars in Second Life Role-Playing Sims

TL;DRAbstract

This study will examine whether residents in the 3D online world Second Life create their avatars and their online identity to correspond to the theme of the (role-playing group/s) in which they are a member. I will primarily look at one Star Wars group, one Gorean group, and one Victorian Steampunk group. All these three groups are closely linked to social, and highly visual, spaces in Second Life. I will primarily search for cues in the individual avatar profiles—often consisting of both text and images created by the residents themselves and available in the SL search engine—to find out if their online identities are in line with (or stand in opposition) to the main narrative of the group.

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