I read a report yesterday on virtual worlds and found an interesting point. They challenged the concept of “virtual” worlds.

Clay Shirky from his book, Here Comes Everybody writes, “The experience of a 25 year old is one of substantial overlap between online and offline friends and colleagues. The overlap is so great that both the word and concept of cyberspace have fallen into disuse.”

The report goes on to say that online interactions on “virtual worlds” are digital but are definitely real. “Digital natives”, meaning those who grew up with the internet, move easily between online and offline environments.

On the other hand, “Digital immigrants” which are those who came to the internet later have more difficulty understanding the point of using an avatar and are trying to make a distinction from what is real and virtual. But acquaintances made on the internet are as real as those we connect with by telephone. Online does not replace offline interactions but rather complements them.

Avatars are merely an online representation of ourselves, and we customize them as we would our own selves with wardrobes reflecting a desire to express who we are. Avatars allow us to curate our online personalities beyond static web presence and experience the net beyond point and click.

Reference: From Virtual Worlds to the 3D Web, Online Communities in China, Asia and the World, a EU-China Information Society Project.