Abstract
With the evolution of computer-mediated communication and the arrival of new virtual environments, there are potential implications
for how the Self may be conceptualised. This paper considers these implications by examining the continuities and discontinuities
between the Self in virtual and non-virtual environments, and contemporary and historical settings. Symbolic Interaction and
Activity Theory approaches emphasise the Self as emerging in context, through Self-Other and Self-environment interactions
in the minutiae of everyday life, but to some extent foreground physical rather than virtual interactions. Interactions in
virtual environments are characterised by specific forms of embodiment and the experience of “presence”, with avatars providing
embodiment for interaction separate from the physical world and interaction with others being one of the determinants of presence.
The complexion of Self-Other interactions in virtual environments is circumscribed by the characteristics of communications
and relationships that occur in them, which are constrained by reduced social cues but overcome through the invention of techniques
driven by the desire to socially interact. This paper highlights the role of symbolic mediation in the emergence of Self in
virtual environments and posits that, while emergence of Self is interactive in nature, virtual environments are particular
sites for a Self where the specific role of social interaction must be foregrounded.
for how the Self may be conceptualised. This paper considers these implications by examining the continuities and discontinuities
between the Self in virtual and non-virtual environments, and contemporary and historical settings. Symbolic Interaction and
Activity Theory approaches emphasise the Self as emerging in context, through Self-Other and Self-environment interactions
in the minutiae of everyday life, but to some extent foreground physical rather than virtual interactions. Interactions in
virtual environments are characterised by specific forms of embodiment and the experience of “presence”, with avatars providing
embodiment for interaction separate from the physical world and interaction with others being one of the determinants of presence.
The complexion of Self-Other interactions in virtual environments is circumscribed by the characteristics of communications
and relationships that occur in them, which are constrained by reduced social cues but overcome through the invention of techniques
driven by the desire to socially interact. This paper highlights the role of symbolic mediation in the emergence of Self in
virtual environments and posits that, while emergence of Self is interactive in nature, virtual environments are particular
sites for a Self where the specific role of social interaction must be foregrounded.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Regular Article
- Pages 1-17
- DOI 10.1007/s12124-012-9215-x
- Authors
- Simon Evans, London School of Economics and Political Science, Institute of Social Psychology, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE UK
- Journal Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science
- Online ISSN 1936-3567
- Print ISSN 1932-4502