Comments on: Going Schizo

By: The great escape

The great escape — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:45:08 +0000

[...] Life lately, starting with my friend’s Dandellion’s thoughtful and entertaining blog post Going Schizo. At its core is the question how to handle the realisation that the personalities we evolve in the [...]

By: Marnee

Marnee — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:06:47 +0000

I terminated the first alt I "released" in SL. She became so enamoured with a really sweet male avvy that she became paranoid. She was not enjoying SL very much without him, and she insisted that she would not be so attached to someone in SL. It happens that conditions in RL have made all my alts avoid close SL friends.
Since then, I’m still keeping 3 avvies, so the 4 of us are trying to figure what to do? 2 male, 2 female. (No animals).
If only I could merge them. But there are gender issues that seem to make this impossible.
Interesting, I notice lately that they seem to be showing a tendancy to pairing-off. Now what?

By: dandellion

dandellion — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:33:09 +0000

I know what you talking about when you say that avatar took all the internet presence, even when it has nothing to do with SL. I know that some people on the web believe there is actual human named dandellion Kimban. But I don’t find it disconcerting, it is one identity or the other, though it can be buggy to say “after all, I am a cartoon” to a group of designers :D

But it is very strange to have avatar acquiring “flaws” of the human. Usually, it goes the other way round. After a while, a human accepts avatar’s bright sides. I am just guessing, but maybe what is happening to you is because you got connected to your other self more firmly. On one hand human personality will alway s be stronger, on the other, that connection is a great opportunity to overcome what you call “flaws” in both lives. What do you think?

By: Princess Ivory

Princess Ivory — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:03:07 +0000

Previously, my avatar self was able to do all the things my RL self was afraid to do. Socially. Visually. She allowed me to extend myself, and my sense of self. She could be more outgoing. She could dress in clothing that I would never wear in RL. Like stiletto heels – I am far too practical in RL to wear them! She/we shopped and shopped so that she always looked perfect and beautiful. I have clothing I have never even unpacked. Time to call a halt to it. But we love to shop. Dilemma.

But now, I unexpectedly find her trapped by my own fears and shyness. She cannot act in situations where I need her to. She has absorbed my flaws. She is no longer a happy extension of all that I am and want to be. She is stuck in a muck of fear, and unable to approach strangers to talk to them, and to interview them, as needed by my SL job.

What to do? I am considering leaving SL altogether. I have let it consume me. I think about my SL life and self all the time, even when I am not in world. I spend more time reading and writing blogs, FLickr, etc related to SL, than I actually spend in SL. Somehow, she has been able to leave SL at will and has become my online presence across the Internet. It is disconcerting.

Who am I? Who is she? And I am so disappointed that some of my worst flaws have someone become part of her personality recently.

Princess Ivory

By: The great escape « Rheta’s World

The great escape « Rheta’s World — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:33:56 +0000

By: dandellion

dandellion — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:03:13 +0000

Botgirl, you are right, no matter how many avatars are there (in different worlds), there is just one source for them. But, that source is capable of going in different directions. That is where all the fun starts. And yes, things get mixed with time. As Argent said, it is like sharing the apartment. Sometimes, it is picking manners, sometimes it is picking clothes :)

By: Zippora Zabelin

Zippora Zabelin — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:03:15 +0000

Dande, perhaps the most embarassing part is that avatar starts talking English, while human is doing her thing in the native language ;-)

Botgirl, your second comment explains very well what I meant to say (and btw I follow your blog closely) :) Human is actually picking some stuff from avatar’s wardrobe drawers lately – even literally, as it comes to way of dressing. But there are also more unconscious changes. It’s difficult to name them, but I can certainly feel them.
Maybe that’s all just a result of thinking about identity in general, which probably wouldn’t happen if one would not have a second personality in the metaverse.

By: Argent Bury

Argent Bury — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:32:56 +0000

Argent, I am sure that avatar can be jealous of the human. We, as you said, live in different worlds. Each one has some things that are not possible in the other.

I’ve been thinking about that, and you’re absolutely right. I envy my human’s time and resources, and the depth of feeling with which they are able to experience the world. So yes, there are some things I would like to have.

As for letting me into meatspace, it’s already happened to some degree. My human, a teetotaler to date, has started drinking cocktails on occasion, which is actually ok I think. If the guns and BDSM leak into the equation we’ll start worrying :P

I don’t think it’s a matter of decision…it just happens. I don’t know if it’s a blurring of the lines or not, though. I think of it more as sharing the same apartment with someone so long that you pick up each other’s mannerisms.

By: Botgirl Questi

Botgirl Questi — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:59:47 +0000

Zippora, I agree with you. I guess I was a bit fuzzy in my initial comment. I meant to suggest only that all identities are physically rooted in the brain and share its resources, memory, cognitive ability, etc. It seems to me that identities are like clothing that is worn by one sentient being. So an individual’s avatar identity might usually put on a snarky skirt, a teasing top and sexy shoes, while the primary human identity is usually garbed in a shy shirt, panic-filled pants and frantic flip-flops. But since the entire wardrobe is in the sentient being’s mental closet, I believe it is possible to mix and match. It’s just a matter of doing the mental judo to find and unlock the doors.

I have a small image set that visualizes my conception of avatar identity: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24863216@N05/sets/72157604985253670/

By: dandellion

dandellion — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:54:54 +0000

Zipp, I am glad you told that. Goot to know I am not the only one :D

You mean letting avatar to open the door and come into meatspace, into human’s behaviour? I guess you are right, but I also guess you know that is not the easiest decision to make, let alone to make it happen.