Avatars

I definitely agree that the avatar is the new self-portrait. It is very interesting to see how the self-portrait has changed with time and technology. But, people back then did the same as we do now; we make ourselves look how we want to look. Avatars and portraits are reflections of how we want to be perceived. Photographs and videos, if staged are the same.

            Avatars are the world’s natural progression of retaining immortality when our bodies are merely mortal. These preserve the person, so that we can be remembered, and leave behind something of ourselves. Now, especially with technology it can be a very altered version of ourselves, but an extension of person that we want to be left behind. Now, we get to choose what is remembered.

            Now, online, a person gets to choose how they are presented. Much like the man with disabilities, he is able, in this virtual world, to do things with his avatar that he could not possibly do in real life.  Like he mentioned, everyone in this virtual world is on common ground. No one knows what each other really look like; all they see is your avatar.

            In the classroom, everyone being on common ground could be very useful. No judgments based on appearance and everyone would be focused on the subject at hand. We could have unbiased peer reviews and no one would be the wiser.