Thanks for the link, but it’s a paid subscription service and my Uni doesn’t seem to be signed up to any sharing agreement.

here’s an article which might be of interest:

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/itgg.2007.2.3.62?cookieSet=1&journalCode=itgg

it’s about identity defining in the ‘second life’ virtual platform.

scott

The world is of course an incredibly complex (and often dangerous) environment and to a great extent our biological condition provides us with the only practical method of effectively and safely interacting with it…by design if you like. The perceivable processes of identification and categorisation that allow us to make associations and affiliations with others in this world are pretty much predetermined therefore. However, that’s not to say that ‘we are what we are…’ of course. Biology is just the building block of human personality, and the sum total of sociopsychological influences ultimately determines how creatively we concoct ourselves in any given situation.

The CV-like characters we create for use in ‘cyberspace’ aren’t that much different to any other transient persona we use for any given situation it would seem. However, I think our virtual personas assume much less responsibility, provide no real emotional connection, and are, more often than not, completely incidental to our real world existence. They are akin to having a chat with a someone on a train on a one off journey: you strike up a conversation, you don’t give away personal details, you shape yourself favourably for the duration of the journey, and once that journey ends the persona is discarded….and furthermore, the journey never really happened, you only imagined it!

I think we have to be careful not to lose ourselves to this attractive but limited world. I do believe we should ground our ourselves in the real world, where interactions with others (relationships) are potentially more permanent, more meaningful and where responsibility is something that is unavoidably learnt.

Very thoughtful post!

Completely agree with your points about our complex make-up. Virtual technologies are such a fantastic way to facilitate communication and information sharing, but getting to know someone’s  character more deeply maybe needs time spent in their company? I think that the challenge for the church is to continue to embrace the possibilities of new technology for mission and “being church” whilst considering how more face-to-face Christian community can be fostered. That’s not to say it has to be of the sit in the pew and listen to the sermon on a Sunday morning variety!

Hope all’s well with you.

Martin