1) Read: Sherry Turkle’s Article “Construction and Reconstruction of Self in Virtual Reality”
2) Blog: Summarize what you believe the main ideas are in Turkle’s article. Then, state whether you agree or disagree with her and why.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In the story about Deborah, the girl who lacked self control and had no self esteem. After learning how to use the computer she was able to restrict herself from losing control. The conclusion was that since she learned at a young age she was able to use this technology to move forward in her life positively. The next girl, Julee went through a traumatizing experience with her mother. Her mother being very religious cut her off after finding out about her daughters abortion. The character that represented Julee's mother in the game could have a number of things done to her, all by Julee's choice. Julee was able to unrealistically escape from her anger towards her mother through the game. The concept created was role-playing. Peter, the college student who lacks friends, uses the online communication as a place to communicate with others. By doing this, he is able to have friends and feel surrounded by others. He can be who he wants to without judgment. During Robert’s hard times with family he would be using video games all the time, by doing this he would not have to think about all the issues. I agree with Turkle's ideas and concepts. Even today people use Facebook, video games, and twitter all as forms of communication. Using this technology allows people to escape from homework, sports, family issues or school. In that moment they can be who they want to be.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, Turkle used his examples of several different people all with different issues that they were able to be resolved through MUD (multi user dungeons). In his first example of Deborah, he talked about how Deborah was able to get through her rough lifestyle of living on the edge with the wrong crowds, by escaping to this virtual reality where Deborah was able to work things through on her own. Turkle goes on to discussing more examples of peope using role playing through MUD that came to be a good way to work through ones problems. Turkle also used an example of Peter, who used MUD in order to make friends. In this way MUD was used for communication like a social network with people of the same interest doing the same things.
ReplyDeleteI think Turkles approach is a very good one. I agree that types of virtual reality games or electronics can really benefit people in a variety of ways. It can give someone another chance to start over, a source of communication, and a way of escaping lifes realities and finding a common ground.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletei think the main point of turkles article is that virtual reality games can help different people in a variety of different ways. The one i found most interesting was the girl whose mother abandoned her after she found out about the abortion. I thought it was interesting that she chose the virtual reality as a means of talking through her problems regarding her mother in an alternate way. I also found it interesting when the girl chose to make everything at 30 degree angles. Turkle suggested that the girl has control issues, and it makes sense. It goes to show how these muds can help people, especially with Robert who used it to put his suicidal thoughts away. I agree with her because these games can really take people out of their worlds of problems and stress, and place them in a better environment. I look at movies the same way, people like to sit in a theater for 2 hours and leave their problems at the door. It gives somebody the drive to at least believe that there can be something better.
ReplyDeleteTurkle's article, Constructions and Reconstructions of the Self in Virtual Reality, discussed a few different people's experiences when it comes to gaming and MUDs. The main point of the article is that virtual reality is an escape for people and a place where they can live completely different lives from what they have in the real world. People who are involved in MUDs can control situations that they usually can't in real life. They can solve problems, interact/communicate with people all around the world, and form relationships. Deborah, Julee, Peter, and Robert all had encounters with MUDs and virtual reality, and although it may have became an obsession to some of them, they all were helped in some way or another. After reading the article and examining Turkle's thoughts on MUDs, virtual reality, and the situations of the four people discussed, I absolutely agree with Turkle. I've even felt that way at times with video games. I'm not much of a game player, but I did use to play the Sims, and random games on Nintendo 64, and I enjoyed creating situations for my characters and having the extravagant house in the Sims that I never would actually have in real life.
ReplyDeleteTurkle experimented with several kinds of people to see if their issues would be resolved through muli user dungeons, or MUD. One example was Deborah. She had a rough time with the wrong crowd of people. Yet, after experiencing a “virtual world”, she learned to change her bad lifestyle on her own. She used role playing as an escape mechanism, as well as Peter. Peter employed MUD as a source to make friends. MUD aided him to communicate and network with people carrying common interests. This almost reminded me of the dating websites. Match.com tries to “match” people together based on their interests and hobbies. The MUD program is beneficial to society because it teaches people to face their “fears”, so to speak. It allows people to freely talk about their issues and find refuge in their lives. Whether a person has control issues, suicidal thoughts, or lack of social skills, MUD creates a world to satisfy these problems. In this virtual worlds, people can be somebody else. They can put their troubles aside and play freely as who they wish to be. This positive effect later translates into their lives and we are able to see the impact of these MUD “games.”
ReplyDeleteThis article talked about specific people and cases where their issues were resolved by these virtual realitys online. When Deborah first went on she made a rule that she could only make a right turn at 30 degrees, which helped with her issues in the real life with drugs and alcohol. All she had to do was make more control and rules in her life to stay out of trouble. Julee's story was a little different, her experience helped her cope with the fact of her mother turning her back on her just because she got an abortion. It helped her work through her problems with her mother. Peter was a kid who kept to himself most of the time and did not travel or go to many places. He only had one other friend. The MUDs that he went to taught him alot like politics and economics. Peter makes the games like he would want his life to be, like substituting his life for online. Robert was another case that Turkle mentioned and he would MUD so that he would not want to kill himself. The games kept him alive basically, and now that he is graduated from college his MUD experience is over. Robert is living on his own and has a good job. It's interesting to see how these virtual reality cites online have helped people deal with their issues and help them in their real lives.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of virtual realities has been rapidly emerging and taking the Internet world by storm. There has been much speculation as to whether these alternate realities are causing more harm than good. Arguments such as escapism and introversion, raise skepticism about whether virtual reality is the best way to redirect real life issues. I must admit, before reading this article I was a firm believer in dealing with your problems head on, in an environment that is relevant to your daily life. However, after reading “Construction and Reconstruction of Self in Virtual Reality,” I am more open to the positive attributes expressed by Sherry Turkle in this article. Turkle brings up many interesting aspects that allow the reader to question any preconceptions involving the subject of virtual realities or MUD’s. One of which being the idea that MUD’s provide an alternative source for dealing with issues that some people are not prepared to deal with in real life. In a sense, she talks about another form of psychotherapy that enables the users of these websites to engage in self-discovery and self-healing. In the case of Julee, through the use of a role-playing game, she was able to confront the issues she had with her mother. While that may not actually change the situation in her real life, it allowed her to come to terms with her feelings, which could be considered a vital step in a traditional therapeutic session. Turkle also talked about gender swapping and how this allows people from the opposite sex to get a glimpse of the daily struggles of that particular gender. In regards to the section about violence in the Japanese MUD, Turkle elaborates on the users ability to arrive at a solution through debates and democratic votes. This suggests that users are using diplomatic skills to solve problems that could be related to the real world. In this article, Turkle brings up many valid points that may otherwise been overshadowed by the generally negative ideas surrounding the virtual world. For those of us not involved in MUD’s or other role-playing websites, we often misunderstand or judge those who choose to partake in these virtual worlds. While I personally don’t believe virtual realities are a way I would chose to handle my everyday problems, there seem to be many benefits for those who choose to do so.
ReplyDeleteSherry Turkle's article, Constructions and Reconstructions of the Self in Virtual Reality, dealt with pros and cons of the online gaming world. Through examples, like Deborah and Peter, she showed how people copped with the grievances of their lives through different types of MUDs. In a way, MUDs are a way for these people to deal with the problems they are facing in their every day lives more successfully. With Deborah, she was able to cope with the issues she had with her mother although she could not change what happened between them in real life. However, I think that MUDs are coping mechanisms for these people, but not necessarily positive ones. For the time being, it may make these people feel better, but in the long run the MUDs are going to continue to keep these people locked in their rooms and attached to their computers. They are losing human interaction and becoming more and more okay without it. These MUDs will not solve their problems in real life; they will not help them deal with issues and realities between other human beings and probably make it harder to engage in social contact with others. Hiding behind a computer is no way to live one's life, at some point they need to step out into the real world and deal with the problems on their own, without a screen in front of them.
ReplyDeleteThe article on Virtual Reality was very interesting. The article is about the MUDs world that allowed people to be who ever they want and to interact with people from around the world. In the Article Sherry Trurlke has a few examples of how MUD has affected people to turn their virtual reality into something that can be a form of reality. For an example the 19 year old Julee who used MUD as a way to talk about her issues with her mom, thus providing a virtual reality sense but still being able to help her deal with her reality problems. The one main point that Turkle noted was that the virtual reality has an ending but reality does not. Basically stating that people who use MUD to escaped their problems in the real world will have to come to face witht the same problem when their game time ends. I also thought one of the main point of the atricle was about the quote " you are who you pretend to be". I believe this quote has some truth behind it because people who pretend to be another person can actually believe they are that person, especially when that pretending is over a period of time. The article main focus was on how MUD has affected people who use it in a positive way, like escaping suicide by allowing the individual to deal with problems they face in the real world in the game, and allowing people to be social and develope social skills in this game.
ReplyDeleteIn the article a character who turns out to be a man playing a woman who is pretending to be a man says “this is more real than my real life”. Rules of social interaction are built not received. At first the character Deborah was hesitant to use the computer because of all of the commands she could give to the computer. Her solution to this was only allowing herself to use a right turn of 30 degrees. She exemplifies how technology can enter into the construction of identity. Julee however used MUDs to reenact her life scenarios. She used it to relive the moment in time when her mom turned away from her. Rather than using it as an escape from reality she uses it as a way to express how she feels and what she wished would have happened. For the character Peter, he used MUDs as a way to distract himself from his true emotions. Although in reality Peter didn’t have any chance with females, in MUDs he was able to charm the most desirable player. All these characters use MUDs but for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteI think the main point of Turkle’s article is to illustrate how different settings or (MUDs) on the Internet can help people escape from reality and become who ever they want whenever they want. The one that caught my interest the most was the one with the girl who’s mother was very religious and disowned her after she had an abortion. In her own MUD the girl was able to work through issues with her mother and move on. Although this seems like a great thing the idea of this scares me a lot. People can be whoever they want to be online or in a MUD. They can say there a white teenage girl from California when they could really be a prisoner behind bars. Even though some of the virtual reality sites people visit help them cope with thing others use them to there advantage to become predators or take advantage of people at there lowest moments. Some people are able to use a game or an Internet site to get control of their problems, research their issues or just talk to other people like them. Just as easily as all these people can get positive feedback there can also be a lot of negativity. I agree with Turkle that these people get some form of support through these “online worlds” but at the same time I believe it is just masking these people insecurities an problems without them ever actually resolving anything.
ReplyDeleteTurkle's article about virtual reality explores a world of various persona's made up by various people. Turkle looks at three people in particular and examines the ways in which this virtual reality or MUD's (multiple user dungeons) has helped them come to conclusion or achieve something in another world that they otherwise would not have achieved. Turkle approaches the topic of virtual games as a necessity for the future, and how they are an aid to people that can't achieve things in reality. I believe they take away from human interaction and accomplishment among physical peers which is integral in a society. It is necessary for humans to interact in a real social setting for us to have interpersonal connections. This is the way a society progresses, by advancing through failure and success in reality. By taking away from that you are weakening the human ability to interact. it is much like Facebook today, or other forms of virtual social networking, where you are not really held as accountable for your actions, which then gives way to making wrong decisions when it comes to reality. Having these "MUD's" it is on an even more extreme level because your physical "real" self is completely taken out of the picture.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Lowe-
In Turk's article, he expresses how introverted individuals handle various social situations using Multi-User Dungeons (MUD). His essay also explores the idea and aesthetic behind 'identity' in these MUDs. Through player history, Turk is able to examine how alternate reality games allow social situations to transpire, that these players might not attempt in the real world. Turke draws the conclusion that these MUDs are the quintessential tool of the future for human communication aid. My belief is that we, as a society, do not communicate with each other enough, on a personal level. The majority of the time, there is some technological device that is connecting us to another person, without connecting physically. If individuals made the effort to develop strong physical relationships and practice these activities daily with others, than humans would not need such high performance MUD-like technologies to handle situations in the real world.
ReplyDeleteThere are several different descriptions of "MUDs" used throughout Turkle's article. I feel the main objective of the article was to identify the difference between the different kinds of virtual reality and how they can be both positive and negative things in an individuals life. Peter, who played the game constantly and used it as his ideal reality is an example of someone who has come dependent on the game, and like Turkle states, no longer thinks of this world as a game. While he lacks confidence and social skills in real life he is able to master these qualities through the playing of the game. Peter relies on his MUD for all the things he lacks in his life, while this may satisfy him temporarily, I feel that ultimately his virtual world will no longer fill his needs when he one day steps away from his computer and realizes he has accomplished nothing that will actually benefit his life. On the other hand I feel that the way Julee used the game was a good, constructive outlet to relieve some of her stress and emotions, and once this was accomplished she was able to end the game and move on with her life. Like Julee, Robert was also a positive example of a MUD er, he used the game to distract him through a difficult time in his life and then moved on.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with and support Turkles arguement about MUD and individuals involvement with such programs. Growing up in a generation that heavily relies on technology it is very easy to see how people create and portray different aspects of themselves using technology. Even on sites as simple as facebook, people are able to choose what pictures of themselves to post, making them look a certain way, say anything they want in their profile and portray themselves in any manner they please. Games such as MUD are definitely a creative and addicting outlet for people who are not satisfied in their own lives, this has become their new "reality" and the real world is no longer needed to satisfy them.
Guerly Odolphe
ReplyDeleteI think the main point of this article is that virtual reality games can help people deal with problems in many different ways however we still need to be conscious of reality. Like Peter in the story play this game because that’s a way for him to escape his reality. He does things like dating and making new friends through the MUD but in his life he only has one friend. I agree with the author because I feel people can use MUD to escape but they shouldn’t let it take over their life, which is what some of those players were doing.