This morning on NPR I heard a segment on creating avatars in virtual worlds. I’ve had a lot of interest in this because 1) my field of study is understanding how we create identity – particularly online; 2) my friend, erin, has really dived in to second life and I’m curious about her choices of avatars; and 3) I’m interested in why people would want to be someone other than they really are.

simpsons rendering of dawnErin recently had a post about creating a Simpsons avatar for herself and that comparison to her Second Life avatar. Since she did it, I just had to create my own Simpsons avatar on the Simpsons movie website.

As I was going through, creating this virtual “me,” I was really focused on making it as close to me as possible (I mean, as close as you can with Matt Groening‘s rendering). I could have made my avatar anything: a boy with blue hair, a little girl, an old man with a mustache. I chose “me,” though. Just as I do on this website, depicting “me” with my real name and real situations, I chose an avatar that was as close to me as possible. I didn’t feel a need to be anyone but me.

Why would we choose to be someone else? The segment on NPR had some great insight into this (and I really want to dive into the book). I can understand if you have cerebral palsy and want to project yourself sans wheelchair, breathing apparatus, etc. I get that. I also understand wanting to have some authority in online role-playing because women are rarely (even in real-life online situations) given any authoritative roles or the respect that goes with that.

I don’t, however, understand wanting to be someone other than me as I am. Am I comfortable in my skin and like who I am? Pretty much. I’ve worked really hard to get where I am and am working hard to get where I want to go. I like me, overall. I’m not such a bad person. Am I stunningly beautiful? No. I’m your girl-next-door. I’m ok with that, too. In fact, I like it. I love my freckles (and would have given my avatar freckles, if I could have), my strawberry-blond hair, and even my need for glasses due to an astigmatism. I’m not skinny. I’m not perfect — but I’m me. And I’m ok with that.

I don’t feel the need to be anything other than that even in the virtual world. But I recognize that for many, this is an escape, an enabling tool to allow them to get to new places. I also realize that for some, it is like being an actor. You get to put on a persona for a certain amount of time and get to act out in different ways. I am probably not creative enough for that. I find it time-consuming enough to be me. I’d have a difficult time portraying myself as another for too long (and I think, for me, five minutes would be too long). But I can understand the draw.

Do you use avatars? If so, who are you online versus your in-person persona? If you don’t, would you be someone else online if you did create an avatar?