Gaming seems to encompass all social walks of life with almost every type of person playing some sort of video game. Whether it be world of warcraft or a barbie computer game, there is a game for just about every person out there. These "alternate realities" found in games have a strong affect on the people playing them. For instance, games can influence gender roles, violence, social interaction, and much more. When a person plays a game, they create an alternate personality called an avatar. The gamer can make this avatar as real life or as fake as he or she pleases. This avatar represents their personality and strongly affects people's impression of the gamer when playing with them. Gender roles are enforced through these games because many girls will choose to be guys in a game just so they can be respected in the gaming world or avoid being hit on. While a lot of these avatars are an accurate representation of reality, most are an exaggerated, idealized version of the person.
I personally do not understand this whole virtual world. I have never gamed and do not plan to in the future. However, I do understand the need to idealize themselves to appear in the most positive light possible. I have a personal blog, so this was something I could truly identify with. Subconsciously, I put forth only the absolute most interesting/ best things about my life in my blog to consequently idealize myself online. Once again, all of this was completely subconscious! Therefore, I completely understand with the idealized avatar part of the virtual world; however, I just cannot connect with the gamers out there simply because I do not play video games of any sort.
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