This blog will be about chapter 11, "reduction and betrayal" by Sherry Turkle. To start off I just want to define the word avatar. The definition is: "A manifestation of a deity in bodily form on earth. An incarnation, embodiment, or manifestation of a person or idea: "he set himself up as a new avatar of Arab radicalism." This begins to set the platform of people in the 1990s that just began to experiment with creating characters and placing them in a virtual world. Turkle speaks ok a man named, Raymond who made an  avatar, Ramona. He would capture every moment of his life and then turn them into Ramona's gestures. He had to be careful of his certain gestures, to make them more feminine like his avatar. We have taken this once revolutionary idea and now have turned it into a game.

        Turkle brings up, Rock Band, the Beatles edition and how it was described as, "transformative entertainment experience." Players hold each instrument that is represented in the band along with microphones that makes into the sounds produced of the avatars. The goal of this is to play and sing just as the Beatles. Kids that are not blessed with the gift of playing an instrument or able to sing are allowed into that world in a way with this particular game. One idea is that if a child plays such games then they will someday play the real instrument. This game takes you from performing like a true rockstar to feeling like one. In an online world people are able to live a fantasy, be at the center of a community with best friends, and have a sense of belonging. Your performance allows you to feel better and be a truer you that may not be able to happen in the real world. 

        Another game that come to mind is the Sims. This game started to evolve when I was around 8 years old. I became fascinated with the idea that you could create your own character and make them do what you wanted to. It is quite fascinating that a Sims community then grew and people were allowed in interact with one another and have relationships. You were able to create another life different from your real one and make it just how you picture it. We have made these games.... Creating a new life and being someone different that who you really are. Why do people feel the need to escape their own life? Why are they expressing their hopes, strengths, and vulnerabilities online? Does the real world not allow them to do this?



Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, to interact with each other through "Residents". Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another. Second Life is intended for people aged 16 and over and is free to sign up. This game allows people to create a better life different from their own. They also use this game to practice what will happen in their own life. A woman who just had surgery for a prosthetic leg was wanting a romantic relationship again. Before she tried in real life, she tried dating and being intimate in Second Life. This then gave her the confidence to try in her real life.

      Confessional sites are something I have never been aware of. Turkle does describe that  online confession is something individuals use as therapy to express their deepest secrets. The world can either reply or ignore their expressions. When confessing something to a friend that you have an on going relationship with and they disapprove of your confession, can be difficult. If you confess to someone face to face and they offer back criticism then of course the virtual world is better to express to. Venting is like sharing, it releases toxic feelings that otherwise would be left in. Feelings ca be dealt with but people do not have to be apart of that. Now, the online world can handle the humans emotions.  If your going to "just read" a confessional site and not post yourself, or comment back, do you not feel like your invading someone else's privacy? If I were to just log on and read a confessional site and someone confessed they were considering suicide, that would take me to a very unhappy, unpleasant place.

     If you express one thing to a stranger and they respond with hatred, it does not protect you from pain. No matter if you know the person or not, if you share something personal and you do not receive approval then you will feel pain. Many think they would rather post on a site where people can interact back so they feel more "personal" but are they truly ready to hear what a person online thinks? Just because someone is online and not in front of you does not mean they will not have the same opinion. When people make themselves vulnerable they expect to be nurtured.

    When did we move to the era of posting every feeling we have, to "get it out" on the internet? When did people become so evil that we feel as if we cannot tell them in person but instead run to the computer? 10 years ago I do not feel like we were in this tsage. People enjoyed meeting up and having relationships where they felt safe and could share their life. How does the internet with milions of users make anyone feel less likely to be judged. What hapened to writing in a journal? It seems as if people want an opinoin so they can keep the emotions rolling.




                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRgitbxFCs