but she means nothing to me ...she's just an avatar

An interesting article from MSNBC, Is a virtual affair real-world infidelity?, takes up the issue of whether virtual infidelity is RL cheating. The story describes an affair between two female avatars who were most likely married men in RL. Is this cheating? If so, does it matter that it's a 3d virtual world (with sex animations) or would such an affair be similarly wrong if facilitated by another medium?

According to the MSNBC.com/iVillage Lust, Love and Loyalty survey, 53 percent of men and 73 percent of women think it's cheating to send a sexually flirtatious e-mail to a co-worker. Further, 57 percent of men and 77 percent of women think online talk or “Webcamming” is cheating. Unfortunately, the survey did not ask about SL sex.

The other day I was in SL asking random people their opinions on this matter. The majority said that such a relationship would be cheating, though some did say it would be okay as long as your RL partner knew about it and approved. Well, of course! Some people have "open" relationships in RL, don't they? The only difference is level physical engagement, right? One way to test this would be to compare people's opinions about RL infidelity and virtual infidelity. I would hypothesize that more people are down with the latter than the former and if you're down with the former you're more likely to be down with the latter. In this world of STDs and psychopaths, it's probably safer to spread your virtual seed anyway.

And on a completely different note, if the two married men weilding female avatars knew that the other was actually a man in RL, does that make them lesbians in SL and gay in RL?

Virtual-Self dependent memory

I would really love some feedback on this thought.

General Preamble:
I have been thinking about memory. It's often assumed to be infallible - if it weren't then how could we believe that our conception of reality is really real? But, of course, memories fade, our minds play tricks, and confabulation happens. So, I believe that one of the major purposes of technology is to improve our feeble human memory device. Perhaps this is something that I will work toward with my research.

Specific Preamble:
It has been shown (source?) that when something is learned in a particular context, it is more easily recalled in that context. For example, if I learn math in a classroom, I am likely to do better on a math test in that classroom than in the library (all other factors, like noise, lighting, etc., remaining constant).

Question:
Is it possible that the same applies for the context of virtual self? In other words, if I learn something as a particular self (e.g., using my dolphin avatar in SL), will I recall it more easily when I am acting as that particular self than another (e.g., my pirate avatar)?

Meta-Question:
Does it make sense to ask this question or is virtual-self really just a context like a classroom?

Mind Readers

I had no idea this technology was so close to market. These devices rely on EEG readers and can be worn dry (no gel), according to an article from the Economist. Apparently, the neuroksy device only uses 1 electrode and will cost about $20. While much of the media hype is geared toward using these things to control other media/technology (e.g., games, software) with your mind, I think they are going to be extremely useful for less conscious activities, such as making sure you are paying attention at critical moments while driving. While most of my research so far has been focused on virtual as opposed to augmented reality, I think this is an area that I would like to pursue.

more virtual identity humor

This video highlights some of the humorous (and scary) ways that facebookers use and abuse the technology. The "Facebook Stalker" is humorous because of the way that he confuses, transposes and violates his crush's real and virtual identities. If the facebook stalker was not using this digital one-stop-stalking-shop (e.g., using the phonebook, old year books, etc.), I imagine that we would be more frightened that tickled. Yet, the facebook allows (encourages) people to reveal so much information about themselves that it's hard to blame the facebook stalker for being a creep. We laugh because this act of stalking, which was previously rare and looked down upon in the status quo, is now becoming the norm of a generation. Thanks facebook!

Virtual Heart Break

This video is quite funny and pertinent to my ongoing discussion about emotions experienced in RL vs. virtual environments.

"If This is Second Life Why is My Heart Breaking in Real Life"



I love that the women speak in TTS (text-to-speech). I guess now that SL is going to allow voice-communication, audiences may expect more expressive voice-acting in such videos - perhaps in real-time SL as well. I wonder if someone will offer voice-filters to maintain some of the anonymity afforded by texting.

But back to the main point - these women are heartbroken - in real and second life! But what if this were a para-authentic event (i.e., the same people who were dating in SL were dating in RL)? What if this guy was two (three)-timing these women in RL and SL? They would be even more heart-broken, right? What if he were faithful in RL but cheating in SL? I think they would be less heart-broken than in the previous condition. Now, what if he were faithful in SL but cheating in RL? Would his faithfulness in SL even matter? Probably not - unless the women ascribed more importance to their SL than RL relationships. This is not such a profound assertion, but perhaps it will lead to some better thoughts later. For now, it leads me back to my sea of email - the tides are rising, I'm hypothesizing.

Wheelies - In Second Life, not on motorcycle

This is a great story about a dance club in SL for RL disabled people to kick it, literally ...hmmm, well, at least virtually ;).



This brings me back to the question of whether emotions experienced in virtual spaces can be more intense or important than those experienced in RL. Perhaps we experience emotions during para-authentic virtual events - virtual events which have RL corollaries (e.g., my virtual motorcycle) - differently than we experience emotions during completely artificial virtual events. This seems obvious - someone who doesn't have a motorcycle in RL experiences a virtual motorcycle in a very different way than I do. Do they love it more or less than I do?

The more salient question is how the disabled person who tends to avoid RL dance clubs feels in the virtual dance club. It seems obvious that they enjoy it more than RL dance clubs. But if they don't go to RL dance clubs, then is the virtual dance club a para-authentic or artificial virtual event. Further, do they enjoy the virtual dance club more or less than I do?

More thoughts for the eventual dissertation? I have a feeling that if I contemplated this for awhile longer I could come up with a theoretical framework to organize how we experience emotion in virtual environments depending on whether it is an artificial or para-authentic event. But I've got more short-term thinking to get back to.

----UPDATE----
After reading this posting, Simon sent me an email saying he doesn't like RL dance clubs but dancing in SL makes him feel great. He also offered me an interview, which I will most likely follow up on when I have an official (IRB sanctioned) research project.

Beatbox Chef Cooks up a Storm

This is another posting that may or may not relate to media or technology. Regardless, the chef boxes a succulent beat to titillate your hip-hauditory taste buds.