Virtual Spaces and Avatars

Abstract

When we go into Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks, we identify with the people sending messages because next to them is a small photograph showing who they are. These are representations of real or virtual people. I will tell you about my own experiences of social networks. I first identified myself with a photograph that could have been on my identity card; I used the same one in all of the networks I participated in. One day I realized that I could change it and use it to give ideas about what my hobbies were. I remember using a photograph with Hitchcock on it, obviously it was not real, but a huge statue of the type we sometimes find in streets, photographed by tourists. Later I chose my favorite video game characters, Vaan or Penelo from the Final Fantasy saga (1987/2013) and currently, Mario Bros. Photographs, either alone or with other fictional characters are not really an avatar. Neither, strictly speaking, is choosing a game character to represent us. Avatars are peoples’ alter egos. They are a representation of oneself, which is used in Internet and has been constructed using the computer.