Virtual Identity Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In this paper, the phenomenon of virtual idol Hatsune Miku will be analyzed in the context of critical theory, emerging technologies, and theory of digital art practices. The first part focuses on the phenomenon of the virtual celebrity seen as Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of ‘body without organs.’ The second part examines how the state-of-the-art technologies have enabled the existence of Hatsune Miku who is simultaneously a corporate software product, a pop icon, a performance artist, and a collaborative multimedia artwork. Based on the reading of Hatsune Miku as a hybrid product emerging from the fusion of arts and IT, the last part revolves around the concept of ‘aura’ (Benjamin) generated by virtual idol’s presence. Finally, the notion of hyperterminality is introduced not only to differentiate between entities/identities appearing on the surface of the screen and those virtual constructs co-existing with us in the spaces of physical reality, but also to explore how these newly emerging “phygital” entities transform the existing conceptions of body and identity.

El actual modelo cultural basado en el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación genera realidades sociales que afectan a las motivaciones del ser humano. De modo que en la actualidad se hace precisa una revisión de la jerarquía de las necesidades de Maslow dirigiéndola hacia un modelo que contemple las dimensiones que a día de hoy conforman la personalidad del individuo: la real y la virtual. Este artículo plantea un nuevo modelo motivacional, que complementa al anterior, adaptado al contexto espacio temporal contemporáneo en el que las tecnologías están inmersas en nuestra forma de vida.

- by Marta de Miguel Zamora
- •
- Human Computer Interaction, Virtual Worlds, Metaverse, Digital Identity

Las cuestiones de comunicación ética en internet y en sus redes sociales son un tema de gran controversia en la actualidad debido a que de forma directa o indirecta implican a toda la sociedad y a la constantemente emergente cultura digital universal. Las prácticas comunicativas éticas en la cultura digital, donde la comunicación interactiva interpersonal digital lidera, dependen mucho de la construcción de las identidades virtuales que los ciudadanos de la sociedad digital desarrollan en las redes sociales. Hay cuestiones éticas en la comunicación interactiva digital sobre las que es fundamental reflexionar profesional y científicamente para poder ir dando respuesta a las cuestiones sobre las mejores prácticas comunicativas éticas. Para ello hay que basarse en las leyes que establecen los derechos y las obligaciones de los usuarios en la red para evitar el uso indebido de contenidos protegidos por la propiedad intelectual, la evitación de la suplantación de identidades, el asegurar la diversidad de perspectivas y de la veracidad de los hechos descritos en las redes, la legislación de las prácticas comunicativas, y en definitiva afianzar las dinámicas y las formas de comunicación ética y no violenta que faciliten el acercamiento socio-cultural en un espacio digital local y global. En conclusión, este capítulo revisa, estudia, describe y contrasta varios conceptos importantes para entender la comunicación ética en relación con las identidades virtuales en las redes sociales.

- by Jorge Mora Fernández
- •
- Digital Humanities, Digital Media, Social Media, Addiction and Recovery

‫الملخص‬ The presence in the virtual world via digital identity has resulted in different effects on the manners and habits of user interaction and communication in the digital environment. This presence presents opportunities and risks at the psychological, social and technical levels as well, which may make digital identity vulnerable to various types of privacy offenses. We shouldn't declare war on technology and think about its confrontations, which in this case means-digital identity-the face of the self, insofar as its potential to adapt and create patterns of coexistence and resilience in the digital environment must be exploited just as real.

- by bayoucef messaouda
- •
- Virtual Communities, Digital Identity, Virtual Identity

**If interested in reading make sure to press the download button! It won't load in browser view due to length.** Personal technologies and social media use have changed the socialization experience of our 21st century learners. As learners have a new, embodied, virtual identity that is an omnipresent force within their social interactions, this study sought to examine how virtual identity influences student relationships both within and outside of a school context. This study also explored how personal technologies and social media use have influenced learners’ perceptions of their own 21st century learning. Using a qualitative inquiry, purposeful sampling was employed to recruit 6 participants between the ages of 15 to 19 to examine their social networking site use and education experience. Data were collected from single, one-on-one semi-structured interviews in which participants discussed their experiences using social media. Data were also collected from the teens’ personal Instagram accounts, and a personal reflexive researcher’s journal was kept for triangulation of data. Open and axial coding strategies alongside constant comparative methods were used to analyze data. Participants shared how they and their peers use social media, the pressures and expectations from other users, social media’s influence on peer relationships, and how social media influences their choices in the physical realm. All 6 participants explained that their teachers do not talk to them about their social media use, and even offered critiques of the school system itself and its inability to prepare students for the new realities of a digital world. This study concludes that while social media is very influential on students’ socialization, educators should be more concerned about the lack of guidance and support that students receive in school in terms of appropriate social media use and the navigation of virtual identity.

- by Mary Code
- •
- 21st Century Literacies, Technology, Sociology of Education, Educational Technology
- by Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast
- •
- Education, Globalization, Philosophy of Education, Higher Education
- by Jan Chovanec
- •
- Discourse Analysis, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Communication
- by Helena Louise Dare-Edwards
- •
- Emotion, Gender Studies, Mimesis, Online Communities
- by Kyan Nguyen
- •
- Consumption, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Virtual Identity
- by Peter Nagy
- •
- Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Virtual Identity, Virtual consumption

This article presents a study whose purpose is to know how is represented the Venezuelan
identity by some portion of the country's blogosphere. The research took a sample of 16
blogs subscribed to the directory Veneblogs and monitoring them by means of virtual
ethnography. The analysis focuses on the native language, expressions, references to the
national context and the presence of ten traits that describe the Venezuelan identity. The
study concludes that it is possible to distinguish at some moment during the blogging
activity typical expressions, use of colloquial forms of language or thoughts on the
Venezuelan context as well as Venezuelan’s traditional features (belief in fate, loss of
historical memory, native wit and cunning) along with emerging features such as political
activism or double-rooted uprootedness.

- by Patricia Henriquez
- •
- Virtual Communities, National Identity, Virtual Identity, Blogging

Globalization is regarded as a process or a project or a process/project which is most rapidly developing. Globalization, in case of occurrence, will put its impacts on all dimensions of human life including knowledge and practice. Particularly, its impact on epistemology and education would be remarkable. Given that the appearance and development of informational revolution is the most important background for globalization, the first challenge of globalization relates to the nature of knowledge. According to the information revolution, the most important characteristic of knowledge is to be sought in this equation: knowledge = information. This involves reducing different facets of knowledge to quantitative information which leads to knowledge legitimacy crisis. In addition, having a communicational dimension, knowledge will be qualified by means of the shape and characteristics of community in the era of globalization. The viewpoint of virtual community calls us from another side to rethink on knowledge as well as on the problem of identity because in the consequence of virtual community, virtual identity of pupils is being claimed which involves identity fragmentation. To deal with these challenges, education needs: a) to resist the reduction of knowledge to information and equate knowledge with wisdom rather than information; b) to extend imaginative and creative procedures; c) to develop interdisciplinary studies as an important way of extending imagination; and finally, d) to provide relationship between virtual and real communities of the pupils.

- by Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast
- •
- Education, Globalization, Philosophy of Education, Higher Education
- by Stacey Ingram
- •
- Social Networking, Personality, Virtual Identity

Along with the advancement of information and communication technologies, new media has become more of an issue as a space where people present themselves intensely. It is also observed that blogs are the important communication tools which are prefered to use by most of the Internet users on new media. In this thesis, the usage practices of popular bloggers who perform self-presentation on blogs in new media are discussed through the findings of the content analysis and the in-depth interviews. The findings are interpreted by the facts such as intimacy, self-presentation on virtual space and the desire of being seen which are the subjects of new media studies substantially. This thesis, which Tumblr blogware is formed as research site, has brought out the fact that the reasons of the desire of being on blogs, the points and the forms of usage are depend on the individuals. It also brings into open some mutual usage practices of popular bloggers.

- by Tuğçe Erbaş
- •
- New Media, Blogs, Virtual Identity, Bloggers

A presente tese parte do reconhecimento de que os social network games oferecem espaços para que os seus participantes exercitem a reflexão de suas identidades. Neles, sujeitos identificam-se e moldam seus perfis para serem reconhecidos e interagirem com os demais jogadores. O objetivo centra-se em compreender como são configuradas estas identidades do gamer nos seus jogos. A discussão teórica incluiu a problematização dos conceitos-chaves de identidade e de jogos online, questões relacionadas à visualização das identidades no Ciberespaço e a forma adquirida nos jogos online e mediações culturais, midiáticas, competências tecnológicas e relacionadas aos jogos. Os social network games foram contextualizados a partir de aspectos históricos, situação atual, ambientes suportes, possibilidades e dinâmicas sociais. A pesquisa empírica parte de uma construção de tipos de games em termos das possibilidades para a construção identitária, que inclui os jogos de Construção de Mundos, que estimulam a personalização do ambiente e os de Participação em Mundos, que estimulam a competição com atores da rede social. Optou-se pela realização da metodologia netnográfica desenvolvida em um jogo dentro de cada uma destas categorias: o Farmville e o SongPop (respectivamente), além de entrevistas com uma amostra de jogadores. Os resultados apontam a existência de elementos no jogo capazes de oferecerem lugares para o desenvolvimento de apropriações sociais (avatar, bens virtuais, interações sociais e território virtual), indicadoras de facetas identitárias destes sujeitos. Por meio deles, percebeu-se a existência de matrizes identitárias nos social network games (aleatórias, competitivas, representativas e valorativas) capazes de direcionar o modo de construção individual e coletivo destes indivíduos antes mesmo de terem contato com estes lugares de apropriação nos jogos. As implicações deste estudo revelam a existência de uma dupla via de afetação oriunda não apenas da estrutura dos jogos, mas, principalmente, dos espaços criativos que os sujeitos encontram para manifestarem suas identidades. Por meio deles, os social gamers não apenas revelam traços de si, como também parecem incorporar novas facetas identitárias oriundas destas construções no game ao seu self, o que sugere um importante papel destes ambientes lúdicos e virtuais na constituição identitária do sujeito atual.

- by Rebeca Recuero Rebs
- •
- Netnography, Virtual Identity, Jogos Digitais, Identidades

The study analyses construction of American national identity in the discourse of Second Life virtual world. The author examines the discursive elements referring to American national identity and describes linguistic means employed for its construction. The research reveals that American national identity is displayed through different elements of the virtual world discourse, in particular, on residents’ profiles, in names and descriptions of Second Life groups and places. American national identity is constructed in Second Life at both individual and collective levels, through toponyms, ethnonyms, brand names, adjectives built from toponyms, and proper and general nouns denoting cultural icons and brands.
Key words: American national identity, virtual world, Second Life, virtual discourse, cultural icon, brand, toponym.

Social networking websites play an important role in our lives. These websites provide several services that allow users to enjoy their time in cyberspace by providing them with space to represent their personalities in the virtual world. Using Goffman's dramaturgical theory, this study aims to identify the way Malaysian women represent themselves, by depicting and managing their virtual identities through Facebook while exploring the way they construct their identities and realize their online presence. A total of 133 female students from a Malaysian university were involved in the study on their self-representations (online and offline); highlighting the way they presented their identities online and suggesting whether their offline influenced the virtual identities. The findings showed a significant effect of the offline feelings on online self-representation and revealed a strong relationship between offline and online presence. It indicated the difficulty of separation between virtual and real identity.

- by meriem narimane noumeur and +1
- •
- Dramaturgy, Women, Facebook, Virtual Identity

Understanding identity requires understanding the communities to which we belong; virtual communities are increasingly relevant to our personal identity. While many point to alleged differences of behavior and presentation online, these are not as great as first appear; characteristics which encourage antisocial behavior online do so offline as well. Furthermore, while deception and alteration of identity are possible online, they are difficult to sustain and rooted in our understanding of physical identities. Thus while there is space between our physical and virtual representations, the two are not sharply separated. Anonymity is often used to argue for such a separation, however while there is sufficient anonymity to allow for deceptive portrayals online, it is harder to attain than most realize. I discuss ways of piercing anonymity online and possible future ramifications of our increasing ability to do so. Less anonymity will likely lead to greater responsibility for our online actions, but it also will diminish our ability to use virtual worlds for identity experimentation. I discuss positive and negative effects of the increasing connection between virtual and physical identities.

- by Erica Neely
- •
- Philosophy of Technology, Self and Identity, Virtual Community, Virtual Identity

Virtual social environments opened the door to individual experiences that may not be feasible or possible in real physical settings; in turn bringing to question the applicability of certain more traditional theories to digital environments. Addressing some of this gap in the available literature, in the current study, we compare virtual and real life identities simultaneously, as well as explore the impact of self consciousness on virtual identity. Our results indicate that while some of the overall trends are similar between identities constructed in the physical world and those constructed in virtual settings, different identity elements and dimensions tend to be emphasized to different degrees. Furthermore, we find evidence for the role of private in addition to public self-consciousness as influencing virtual existence. In other words, in addition to the general emphasis concerning the role of socially influenced external elements in the formulation of virtual identities, the current study highlights the importance of more internalized and individual level attitudes and perceptions, including one’s inner thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. Implications and future directions are discussed.

- by Bernadett Koles and +1
- •
- Second Life, Virtual Identity, Real Life Identity
- by Anastasija Baranovska
- •
- Performance Studies, Virtual Communities, Virtualization, Performance Art

Identity is typically divided into personal and social. In previous research, I have proposed a three-fold distinction that includes an interactive identity which, to a certain extent, plays the part of “feeds” for personal and social identity. The importance of these three identities in the virtual world has varied depending on how the Internet has evolved and has imbricated (and hybridised) in our ordinary lives. Nowadays, social networking sites such as Facebook or Tuenti offer an ideal environment for identity shaping and users’ discourse, in its textual, visual or multimodal varieties, is essential to manage it. This article analyzes a number of Facebook entries, together with the discourse used therein, and also the impact that these entries and the comments they elicit have on users’ identities.

- by Francisco Yus
- •
- Self and Identity, Art, Facebook, Social Networking Sites (SNS)

In deploying social media and other information technologies often not designed with MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) cultures in mind, users generate creative approaches to self-representation using virtual identities while preserving their cultural values. To understand and further empower such approaches, we present a mixed-method of computational and qualitative study, focusing on Qatar as a case of such communities in the MENA region. We analyzed a dataset of over 42,000 publicly available social media profiles using computational approaches (archetypal analysis) and qualitatively analyzed a separate set of 255 profiles. We augmented our descriptions with semi-structured interviews. As a result, we delineate a set of five needs/values exhibited by Qatari users supporting their creativity in effectively using virtual identities: Khaleeji 1 features, self-expression, social connections, social monitoring, and physical and virtual identity contrasts. Finally, we propose an initial set of guidelines to support developers of virtual identity systems in better serving these users while preserving their cultural values and creative agency.

- by Sercan Şengün
- •
- Social Media, Qualitative Research, Virtual Identity, Qatar
- by Jessica Baldanza
- •
- Social Media, Public Relations & Social Media, Virtual Identity, The Sims

Social identity is created in a long and complex process, which includes the “meanings which one person assigns to him/herself, while having the perspective of the others,..” (Wendt, 1994). That means that the process entails acquiring knowledge and acceptance of the mutual characteristics, values, beliefs of a social community, which enables an emergence of sense of belonging, distinction but at the same time understanding the differences among one’s own group and the other groups. On the other side, the already formed individual, due to the contemporary technology forms its virtual identity in a very short time, and identifies with groups and their values and symbols in a shorter period of time. The feeling that one belongs to these groups is very powerful and strong, and for some it represents a very important aspect of their identity. Looking at the existence of these identities we would like to look at their existence, conditionality, interconnectedness, creation and co-creation. Especially we would like to focus on the way that the existence of the first shapes or modifies the existence of the second. Thereby we are trying to give an answer what is the role of the context in the creation of these identities and whether the virtual world which creates context with different rules, also creates a virtual identity with different, specific characteristics.
differences among one’s own group and the other groups. On the other side, the already formed individual, due to the contemporary technology forms its virtual identity in a very
short time, and indentifies with groups and their values and symbols in a shorter period

- by Maja Simonovska
- •
- Social Identity, Virtual Identity, New Technologies, Sense of belonging

Nowadays video games have provided an enriched environment for their users to make a sense of presence in interactive media. A sense of presence in the virtual space of video games leads to some sort of twin-concept or even further the unity of the user with the character within the game. This unification brings virtual identity for the user. As time goes by, through the presence in the virtual space of video games, real identity is complicated with virtual identity and it has to be influenced by the virtual elements. The way of making a sense of presence for the users of video games in which leads them to a virtual identity in the new-born medium, and the consequence of the sense of presence above in the real identity of users is the problem this paper is going to seek. Hence, the paper, according to the views of interactive media theorist and data collection of using library research method through descriptive–analytical explanation, suggests the assumption that cinematic aesthetic form, interactive narratives, and the use of the unique capabilities of the media in which video games take the advantages of them and suggest them as well, provides an enriched environment that brings a sense of presence for the user and will alter his real identity.
This article is written in Persian.

- by Ali Razizadeh
- •
- Video Games, Interactive Narrative, Virtual Identity, Sence of Presence

This paper examines the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in Second Life. More specifically, we investigate the tendency to link the virtual world to reality through the concept of identity, and explore the role consumption and business endeavors play in this process. Information was obtained from comments posted on four Second Life forums, focusing on the general themes of virtual avatars, aspects of
business activities, and their mutual impact on each other. Qualitative narrative research analysis was employed. From our results, three distinct categories emerged on the basis of residents’ immersion to Second Life; 1) purely virtual, 2) mixed, and 3) realist. We highlight particular characteristics associated with each of these clusters, with suggestions aiming to capture the various demands and preferences of each corresponding
group. In terms of business activities, residents appeared quite demanding, identifying high quality products and professional services as the basis for business success in virtual settings. The business approaches most likely identified to lead to success or failure associated with certain businesses confirm that online environments differ substantially from physical and real world markets, with trust being a particularly sensitive issue in these
anonym and fully disembodied contexts. Further implications for organizations and scholars are discussed.

- by Bernadett Koles and +1
- •
- Virtual Worlds, Virtual Identity, Virtual consumption

espanolEste articulo presenta un estudio cuyo proposito es conocer la manera en que se ve representada la identidad venezolana por parte del colectivo perteneciente al pais en la blogosfera. La investigacion toma una muestra de 16 blogs adscritos al directorio Veneblogs y les hace seguimiento mediante tecnicas de etnografia virtual. El analisis se centra en el lenguaje y las expresiones criollas, las referencias al contexto nacional y la presencia de diez rasgos que describen la venezolanidad. Se concluye que es posible distinguir en algun momento de la actividad bloguera expresiones tipicas, uso de formas coloquiales del lenguaje o reflexiones sobre el contexto venezolano asi como rasgos tradicionales de la venezolanidad (creencia en el azar, perdida de la memoria historica, amiguismo, viveza) junto a caracteristicas emergentes como el activismo politico o la dualidad arraigo-desarraigo. EnglishThis article presents a study whose purpose is to know how is represented the Venezuelan...

- by Yesly Suárez
- •
- Virtual Communities, National Identity, Virtual Identity, Blogging

La diffusione capillare di Internet e dei social network ha portato ad emersione una drammatica problematica. In numeri sempre più allarmanti, i ragazzi adottati ricercano le proprie origini biologiche sui social network, che non offrono alcuna funzione di filtro delle informazioni. In primo luogo, emerge la difficoltà di tutelare questi contatti non mediati, sia in capo alle famiglia adottive, sia ai servizi che si occupano di adozione, che non sempre riescono ad intervenire tempestivamente. Tra le possibili soluzioni, si prospetta, innanzitutto, un approccio aperto alla ricerca delle proprie origini da parte delle famiglie adottive, insieme ad una maggiore educazione, per tutti gli attori coinvolti, all´utilizzo di questi strumenti, conoscendone rischi e pericoli.

- by Edoardo Scianò
- •
- Sociology, Social Networks, Adoption, Social Media

Similarly to avatar customization and weaponry, digital dwellings are furnished and embellished through items that serve different purposes, shifting between aesthetic preferences, functional choices, and the expression of personal in-game accomplishments. Interpreting a digital dwelling as a “cradle of the self” (Vella 2019, 158) able to “represent a conscious attempt at self-construction on the part of the individual” (ibid., 160) and dotted with cherished objects with an emotional (and memory) value, we will try to draft a provisional taxonomy of different memory cues in digital dwellings basing on the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, which features a multi-layered housing system for advanced characters.

- by Stefano Caselli
- •
- Game studies, Memory Studies, Game Analysis, Virtual Identity
- by Tiểu Tuyền
- •
- Consumption, Second Life, Social Media, Virtual Worlds
- by Charlene Gagnon
- •
- Web 2.0, Social Media, Facebook, Virtual Identity
- by Elena López Martín
- •
- Art, Photography, Facebook, Virtual Identity

This volume explores Cybercultures from a community perspective reflecting a diversity of scientific disciplines and national contexts. The authors address different categories such as societal realms for community applications, national and cultural specifics or communities around users with special needs and interests. Central topics include virtually created identities as well as community practices in cyberspace.

The questions of virtual representation and online identity are growing in salience for academicians ever since the inception of the Internet. Although the main flow of public online interaction and research into it have shifted towards... more

- by Mikhail Pushkin
- •
- Virtual Identity, forum avatars

The self-renewing structure of the technology has enabled various transformations to change the existing order. This new technological structure, based on the digitalization of the individual and the society has created differences in the structure. A number of new surveillance practices have emerged in order to provide control in the digital society and to prevent possible problems. In the light of literature review, the results of the digital developments as a result of the rapid changes in human life are examined. In the study, a group of 10 subjects, aged between 18 and 23 years, focused on a group of seven subjects prepared with the data obtained from literature reviews. The questions asked in focus group work have been prepared by compiling the data on new media applications in social, economic and state dimensions. According to the results of the analysis obtained with the data obtained from the study, it was recorded that the focus group participants expressed their beliefs about the state, the economic and the social dimension of the surveillance and that even the developments were facilitated. In this context, it is seen that the criticism of the new media technologies and the new media users' satisfaction with the concept of oversight have an inverse proportion.

- by İrem Yeniceler Kortak
- •
- Communication, Digital Media, Surveillance, Virtual Identity

A partir de los años ochenta y con el desarrollo de las tecnologías digitales, los dobles virtuales aparecieron ofreciendo nuevas estrategias de sociabilización. Ciertas redes sociales virtuales como Facebook evidencian el papel de la fotografía como elemento constructor de identidades virtuales. Este fenómeno de masas, presente en numerosos debates de actualidad, no ha quedado exento de crítica en la producción artística. Por ello, en esta investigación, además de contextualizar la actual sociedad red y relacionar los conceptos fotografía, identidad y red social, mostraremos cómo el arte de internet se ha involucrado en el discurso crítico de la identidad fotográfica en la red social Facebook.
Palabras clave: sociedad espectáculo, fotografía, identidad virtual, Facebook, Net.art.
Abstract:
Since the eighties, with the continuing development of digital technologies, virtual doubles appeared offering new strategies for socialization. Certain on-line social networking sites such as Facebook, highlight the role of photography as an essential constructor of virtual identities. This mass phenomenon is clearly present in a large variety of current debates and has not come without criticism in the art production. In our research, besides contextualizing our current network society and relating the concepts photography, identity and social network services, we will show how the Net.art has been involved in the critical speech of photographic identity on Facebook.
Key words: society of spectacle, photography, virtual identity, Facebook, Net.art.

- by Elena López Martín
- •
- Photography, Facebook, Virtual Identity, Netart
- by Charlene Gagnon
- •
- Social Media, Facebook, Virtual Identity, Web

In the 21st century, the existence of an individual is no longer limited to the 'real' world-the 'offline'-but has expanded to the 'online'. Mass computerization and increased internet access has introduced the 'virtual' space to the... more

- by Savyasachi Rawat and +1
- •
- Privacy, Privacy (Law), Virtual Identity
- by Selman Repišti
- •
- Social Networks, The Self, Online social networks, Virtual Identity