Brody’s got a good point, especially since he includes email and IM as part of a person’s virtual presence. It’s kind of the way that people tend not to think of email as part of the internet. Email’s just floating out there, I guess, like citizenship, while creating a SL avatar is like joining a political party’s local committee.

The way that the “current” generation (Gen Y, the Millennials) construct identity is already very different from my generation (GenX) as well as the Boomers. To them, fluid, multiple, virtual identities are the norm. They try on identities the way they try on outfits at the mall. I love this because my hope is that it will increase self-esteem. If they get to test-drive an identity in the virtual word before certain physical-world situations (e.g. new school, first date, etc), it may increase their confidence.

Of course, two generations after them, that “try before you buy” concept may be totally foreign or unnecessary.

Oh, and re: camera angles. There is a function in SL called “alt-zoom” where you hold the alt key and can then zoom your camera in on something. A friend of mine said once you start spending time in SL, you’ll find yourself wanting alt-zoom in real life. I didn’t believe her, but then the other day, it happened! And I thought WHOA. So the perception of RL is being impacted by virtual worlds.

Awesome, thought-provoking piece, Dave. Thanks!