In the end of the Nakamura’s article it says that “race matters, and that bodies matter. Programming languages and internet connectivity have made it possible for people to interact without putting into play any bodies but the ones they write for themselves”. Throughout this article we’re able to see that in cyberspace race and body types are an important factor in living in the fantasy world of the internet, you are able to enter pretty much any world you can dream up and visit as any race or gender you would like other players to perceive you as. In these fantasy world’s you are able to get away from your everyday life and take a “vacation” leaving your work, your family, and sometimes your real self behind without even having to leave the comfort of your living room chair. I think that this really relates to a lot of what people want. Traveling the world or other neighborhoods that you would otherwise never see from the comfort of your own home is a lot of what happens now that traveling is seen as a privilege for so many people.
Social interaction is another factor that I think draws people into cyberspace. You can not only look the way you want you can also have the personality of anyone you choose. If for example you are not very social in your everyday life you may be able to open up to more people through the Internet and make more cyber friends along the way.
I think for some people the down fall of the Internet and becoming any one you want is that sometimes through cyberspace you may not be able to just be yourself. The games may not offer your body type or race as one of the choices so you are then forced to become someone you don’t see as yourself. This sometime can be unfulfilling for people who would like to explore cyberspace and know who they are talking and relating to is really what you are getting.
3 comments:
Holly,
you raise some interesting points, especially the idea that the selection of identities on the internet are limited and that because of these limitations, you can not be yourself.
I agree that the internet has evolved from being a vehicle that was used to transfer files and do research to becoming a fantasy world to escape the real world. It is this escapism from the real world that I think fuels the gaming and tourism on the internet.
One of the drawbacks I found in Nakamura's cyberworld is that as we draw ourselves into the cyberworld, we may be pulling ourselves out of the "real world" which could be detrimental to society.
Good post. You raise some important and different perspectives. - Jennifer Wheeler
Holly,
I am glad that you also read Nakamura's article because I did as well. Your post is similiar to mine in that we both mentioned the "vacation" aspect of the Nakamura article. I also found that section of the article interesting and saw the relevance between her two articles that we have read so far.
I think that it was a very good post and really got to the core of what the article was getting at.
Holly,
I really found the last paragraph of your blog interesting when you talked about having a certain identity in cyberspace. It is true that some of the games might not have the users body type and things of this nature can cause a false sense of identity in cyberspace.
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