In Just Like Me Only
Better, the author investigated "Second Life" avatars which
represents individuals from different ethnic origins and various other
backgrounds. I found the results of this
article very intriguing. First, the
commonality in preference of facial features among the study subjects were very similar. Even with the subjects coming from various
backgrounds and nationalities, they had seemed to choose characteristics
following a "contemporary Caucasian pattern of beauty". However, every nationality seemed to have favoritism
in slightly different features of their avatar.
This is another aspect of this study I found to be unusual and
interesting. Each nation had their own
version of a "perfect" avatar.
For example, the Germans preferred tanned skin, blond straight hair, and
thin lips and nose. Among the Vietnamese
and Chinese, they seemed to prefer darker skin as well, and the Japanese
preferred larger eyes. These slight
variations and commonality show the general tendencies of what is preferred in
these nations.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteI also found this article to be interesting. When I first saw the word avatar, I immediately thought about the movie. When I continued to read on about the study they performed, I was surprised to see that many of the avatars features were similar to the other ones that were created. Many also chose to create idealized versions of themselves. Women would make themselves skinnier or have bigger breasts, while men gave themselves larger muscles. Creating an avatar lets people create someone they wish they could be. They want to look and have different traits about themselves that they may not protray in their real life.