Week 10 Reflection: Alter Ego

This is a blog post posted by Mark Jones discussing Alter Ego, a documentary profiling members of the online gaming community of Second Life. I have found that Second Life has popped up in a number of our discussions of virtual communities, the ways in which these communities can be a reflection of the 'real-world' and the potential for avatars to become an extension of the individual self. Unfortunately the documentary has been removed from the sbs website but I managed to find a short clip from the documentary detailing a couple who live out their dream lives on Second Life.

It is interesting to see the way in which Blair and Alegria view Second Life as an opportunity to live their "real life dreams", dreams that they view as difficult to attain in their offline lives. Blair and Alegria's avatars as not only an extension of themselves but an improved version of their offline identities and bodies. Alegria reveals that in Second Life she is able to have larger breasts without having surgery and blond hair without using peroxide. It is interesting to see how the short clip juxtaposes their offline lives with their Second Life virtual realities. In Second Life Blair is a DJ with an potential worldwide audience of half a million people and Alegria is a successful fashion designer. In their offline lives they clean cars for a living and live in a modest home. The offline activities they undertake are constructed as mundane in comparison to the fantasy lives they live in Second Life.

I think this clip demonstrates the ways in which virtual realities have the potential to intertwine with 'real life'. Alegria is able to make 'real world' money with her online creations and Blair has paid hundreds of dollars to attain his sought after looks in Second Life. They are both able to live in an environment where they have greater control over their looks, the activities they undertake and the sucess they experience in life. They are able to achieve greater validation and pleasure from the lives they live on Second Life as opposed to their 'real lives' and it is because of this that Alegria and Blair choose to spend more time living life "in there". On that note here is another short documentary on a member of the Second Life virtual community. I think this further demonstrates the way we can construct and have control over our online identity and the way we choose to present ourselves to others within a controlled environment.