Social Interactions and Virtual Worlds

Paper Summary:

The Internet is one of the fastest growing methods of communications, used for a variety of reasons. The paper shows that with the increased growth of internet communication, people find that the Internet is also a way to meet and socialize with new people. This is often done through chat rooms which have many advantages and disadvantages. The paper examines this new type of social interaction by exploring the pros and cons. It shows that people are attracted to this form of communication as it allows them to play with power, anonymity and different identities. The flip side, however, is that this behavior can become addictive.

From the Paper:

"Because people can remain anonymous in a virtual world they can also feel free to explore with different types of their identity. You can alter your style of being just slightly different or indulge in wild experiments with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, and even your gender. According to the Nua Internet Surveys (2002), the number of women on the Internet is growing fast. However, the majority of the people that participate in virtual worlds such as The Palace are men. When you go through the rooms in The Palace you will notice a lot of feminine dolls. This could be because many men feel free (because of anonymity) to be female.
Gender swapping appears to be commonplace in the virtual world (Suler, 2002). In The Palace, I found more males switching gender than females. This may be because it may be difficult for some men to explore within themselves what society labels as "feminine" characteristics. These males may rely on the anonymity of the Internet to express their "feminine" side, which they feel they must otherwise hide."

More papers on Social Interactions and Virtual Worlds:

• Research Paper # 62349 : "Video Games and Child Development"
• Research Paper # 106916 : "Massive Multi Player Online Games and Social Capital"
• Analytical Essay # 138584 : "Video Games in Modern Culture"

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