The Social Life of Avatars

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been developed commercially since the early 1990s [1]. Yet it is only with the growth of the Internet and other high-bandwidth links that VR systems have increasingly become networked to allow users to share the same virtual environment (VE). Shared YEs raise a number of interesting questions: what is the difference between face-to-face interaction and interaction between persons inside YEs? How does the appearance of the "avatar" - as the graphical representation of the user has become known - change the nature of interaction? And what governs the formation of virtual communities? This volume brings together contributions from social scientists and computer scientists who have conducted research on social interaction in various types of YEs. Two previous volumes in this CSCW book series [2, 3] have examined related aspects of research on YEs - social navigation and collaboration - although they do not always deal with VRIVEs in the sense that it is used here (see the definition in Chapter 1). The aim of this volume is to explore how people interact with each other in computer-generated virtual worlds.

From the reviews:

"At the heart of this book is a simple question: how do people who meet in computer-generated worlds interact? ... The strengths of this book lie in what it reveals of the orderliness of interaction in virtual environments. ... If you work in this domain, should you have it on your bookshelf? Yes, of course." (Peter Tolmie, New Media & Society, Vol. 6 (3), 2004)

"If you are interested in virtual environment (VE) and social interaction in various types of VEs, this book is an excellent resource. This book focuses on how people interact with each other in computer-generated virtual worlds. ... The Social Life of Avatars gives readers two valuable points: how to improve the VEs and the potential that social interaction in virtual environments can be applied in various forms of computer-mediated interaction. Finally, let me recommend this book to you." (Sally Hong, Educational Technology and Society, Vol. 5 (4), 2002)