of Avatars and Anonymity

Avatars.

A graphical image that represents a person as on the Internet. If you were to ask me a month ago what an avatar is, I would shake my head. My twisted induction to this new vocabulary in town came in the form of an Aunt Agony column in a magazine where a woman was seeking advice after discovering her boyfriend's avatar was having an intimate relationship (read: sex) with another woman's avatar. And the million-dollar question was: is this infidelity?

Infidelity?

Hmmm...I'm not sure. I had more questions instead. 2 things - 1) a liaison, albeit a VR one, isn't that the subconscious desire to cheat? and 2) what is that guy afraid of, why VR? Cheap thrill? Or simply 'cause there's no commitment? But that's beside the point.

Anonymity.

So, I figured that the lure to avatars has probably got something to do with the anonymity factor. The real world is harsh and sometimes, the truth hits us liken the golf ball or club in our shin. Ouch! And I can only guess that the virtual world is a perfect escape route. Afterall, it's emulated after the real world. Right?

Hobson's Choice?

It's a free world. Okay, not so free...but you get the idea. And I can't help but find myself wondering why there are people who would only say or do something anonymously or pseudonymously. So it's all or nothing huh? But what can be so bad about saying something and be quoted for saying it? Reprisals? Judgment? Or are they simply gutless? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the unnamed, really; it's just that I've never really been nameless before, and I just want to know why.

As for my avatar, if I ever have one, will probably be very different from me, I think.