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Deconstructing Europeia as a Digital Space; Part One: Cyberpsychological Dimensions and Avatars
Topic Started: Feb 26 2018, 02:01 AM (106 Views)
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Deconstructing Europeia as a Digital Space, Part One: Cyberpsychological Dimensions and Avatars


Why do people behave the way that they do online? How do people form online identities? Do people's online identities create social expectations in the online communities they participate in? It will be my goal in this essay series to provide some answers to these questions and more. However, I am not a psychologist and by no means should any of this be used as a reference for a diagnosis of any kind. I am simply an Internet user and a member of online communities looking to shed some light on this topic.

In this first essay, I will be drawing from my experiences in the online communities of NationStates (NS), a text-based browser game and, more specifically, the community of Europeia—a sub-group of players (known as a "region") within the game. As a community, Europeia is a multimedia environment, making use of not only the NS website itself but also an independent forum and multiple Discord servers. Each of these social platforms allows users to have a different experience. Many other regional communities within NS have similar structures; however, not all do.

Both the NS website and the forum allow users to communicate asynchronously, and the Discord servers allow for a mixture of asynchronous and synchronous communication (dependent upon the availability of whom one is talking to). Additionally, it is typical for users to feel more freedom in choosing an avatar (that is to say, an image) on the forum and on Discord to represent themselves than on the NS website, where it is traditional to represent one's account (one's "nation") with a flag. The presence of these visual forms of expression, in addition to the text used to communicate with others, adds another layer to the complex cyberpsychology of this online community.


The Eight Dimensions of Cyberpsychology Architecture
However, before one can begin to map these passages of the maze that is the human mind, one must first understand what Dr. John Suler, Professor of Psychology at Rider University and a founder of the field of cyberpsychology, calls the eight dimensions of cyberpsychology architecture. The eight dimensions are: identity, social, interactive, text, sensory, temporal (time), reality, and physical. All digital spaces, Europeia included, can be examined using this architecture. Which dimensions are minimized or maximized, and in what ways, are critical to understanding the psychological aspects of Europeia as a digital space.

(Descriptions of the eight dimensions can be found in Dr. Suler's book, Psychology of the Digital Age: Humans Become Electric, which was published in 2015, and online at this link.)

To examine Europeia as a digital space using this architecture, we must analyze each dimension individually. While I will not cover every dimension in this essay, to encourage readers to analyze those not examined on their own, I will begin with the identity dimension. How can a user present themselves in Europeia? As mentioned previously, there are multiple avenues available for presenting one's self through text and through the usage of an avatar. In addition to that, on both the forum and the Discord servers used by the community, a user can also control when other users know they are online. In the case of the forum, users may choose to log in anonymously, and in the case of the Discord servers, users may choose to appear offline at any time they wish. Users may also present themselves vocally on the Discord servers through the voice chat function.

Secondly, I will examine the social dimension. What possibilities are there for creating, managing, and aborting relationships with individuals and groups? Frankly, the possibilities are surprisingly numerous. Europeia, as a region, is highly centered around role-playing politics. The majority of the community's forum and Discord users are "citizens" of the region, which means that they maintain a nation within the region on the NS website and have successfully completed an application process on the forum. After acquiring citizenship, a whole new array of possible roles will become available to the user to play, vastly expanding the range of their social dimension in this digital space. This aspect is very common throughout NS communities in general and the social dimension is one of, if not the, most strongly emphasized in the experiences of both Europeia and the game as a whole. Furthermore, all of the social platforms available to users allow them to interact with other members within the community, as previously described. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

Next up in this essay is the temporal (time) dimension. As mentioned before, there are opportunities for both asynchronous and synchronous communication in Europeia. There is also an incredible degree of recordability of that communication on all levels. Europeia originated in 2007, and has made use of the NS website and an independent forum since then, and the Discord servers first came into use in 2016. While there are some public communications that have been lost, either due to deletion of posts (which is extremely rare) or due to the abandonment of an obsolete social platform (such as Skype), by the community, the majority of Europeia's public communications have been permanently frozen in time since their posting.

The final dimension I will be analyzing is the physical dimension. Though it is likely not consciously considered by most users, as it is habit to them, interacting with the digital environment that is Europeia requires the use of the physical body. It might sound silly to read but I highly doubt that most users actively think about how much typing they are truly doing, as text communication is the method most commonly used, in order to engage with others within the community. Additionally, the physical state of a user can affect his or her behavior, such as if the user is fatigued or intoxicated, and their ability to type effectively. Ineffective typing in text-based communication can be incredibly hindering to the understanding of those the user is engaging with socially, to say the least. Furthermore, certain behaviors, particularly those that may be displayed by an intoxicated user, may not be considered appropriate for one reason or another.


Concerning Avatars
While avatars can be of any image that is within the constraints of the community's rules, in Europeia, they are typically of a person (such as a famous actor), an animal, an animated character, or an object. The avatar may be used to represent the user's personality (or at least one aspect thereof), or it may be used to associate with something the user is fond of, such as their favorite film. Regardless of what image is chosen as an avatar, it is not uncommon for it to hold some emotional significance to the user. At their cores, avatars are social props that we in cyberspace use to not only express ourselves but also to shape our interactions with other users by influencing how we are perceived by them.

Avatars can also be used to display a user's emotional state or general state of mind, both intentionally and unintentionally. This practice is especially common when the user's avatar is of a person or character who has a wide array of images available on the emotional spectrum—perhaps one reason actors are so popular—or the user is prone to make use of avatars of a particular gender. In comparing it to the physical world, think of how the clothes you are wearing may affect the way you behave, or the way others behave toward you. You may end up getting attention simply due to the way you are dressed.

The changing of avatars can also disrupt a user's online identity, particularly if that change is accompanied by a change in the user's name as well. Even the user's closest friends may have difficulty recognizing him or her by text alone. For a user who is new to the community, this can be especially damaging, as it takes time to develop an identity other users associate with the new member. However, the changing of avatars can also sometimes be indicative of an identity disorder in the user, with disassociated parts of his or her personality being displayed with different images.

(To read more about the psychology of avatars, please check out this article by Dr. Suler.)

To be continued...


Written by Izzy
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Lovely essay. :) Can't wait to read the next one!!
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Feb 26 2018, 02:39 AM
Lovely essay. :) Can't wait to read the next one!!
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Reminder to all that you can take my digital lifestyle survey for the next week, which will be used to inform future essays. You can find more info on that here: http://s6.zetaboards.com/Europeia/topic/10030961/
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Great essay Izzy
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A nice preface and overview, Izzy, thanks!
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Very interesting. Look forward to the next one!
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Sorry if I grave digged this. But I just wanted to drop by and say that you are doing a great job.
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