Monday, March 7, 2011
Just Like Me Only Better
I found this article to be very interesting. At the beginning of the article it discusses what an Avatar really is. It discusses how it comes from Sanskrit and refers to the form that the gods assumed when they visited the world. “Thus it does not denote a material body like ours, but a representation bearing diving characteristics, independent of the limitations of time and space.” Avatars range from the simplest representations to complex graphically refined images of characters in computer games. The whole time when reading this article, all I could think about was the movie Avatar. Seeing humans go into a machine and then come out as an Avatar into another life. The graphics of the movie were incredible and even though the human was transformed into a blue avatar, you were still able to see a resemblance from their human looks. Also, when reading this article, I felt the way we act on the internet can be like an Avatar. Most people will say things through text messaging or email, or instant messaging, that they wouldn’t exactly feel comfortable saying in person. It is almost like since we are not face to face or speaking vocally, it allows people to feel more comfortable and gives a freedom to say whatever is on their mind. For example, after going on a first day with someone and you are still very nervous and unsure of what to say, being able to send a text message saying “ I had a lot of fun with you tonight ☺ “ is a lot easier than picking up the phone and calling them. I feel like we act as Avatars with technology.
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I definitely agree with about how we act like avatars with technology. For example, my past relationship ended with a text message and a SMILEY FACE~! Well obviously they were happy to rub it in my face rather than to see my reaction from that smiley face of theirs. I think that avatars can also displays a lot of emotion for some people. I know that when my friend was sad and going through her suicidal phase, during her teenage years. Which brought her to changing her avatar to something dark, emo and even had a display name somewhere along the lines of “amputated heart”. O_O
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ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting reading your post and I have to agree with you that “people today do say things through text messaging or email, or instant messaging, that they wouldn’t exactly feel comfortable saying in person.” People used text messaging, email, and instant messaging to avoid confrontation. Thanks to our advance technology, we can send text messaging, email, and instant messaging instead of picking the phone and actually calling the person. I do feel like I'm living in a virtual world sometimes because I use text messaging a lot to avoid calling someone. Most of my friends and family actually like to use texting messaging instead of calling. All of us are living a virtual because technology will continue to advance.
ReplyDeleteJust like you, I recalled quite a bit of movie/tv from reading this article. I like what you said about communicating via digital medium rather than in person. Communicating through a screen is much less personal than face-to-face, however, what can be said can be increased, since interaction is limited. I know that I prefer to text rather than call, but only because to me it is more convenient and much faster. I agree, however, that there are quite a bit of people who text over going face to face to avoid confrontation. Great insight, I found it very engaging.
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