All About Avatars
Avatars Are Everywhere
- Avatars are illustrated alter egos
- Many video game and online games require avatars
- Avatars represent people in virtual worlds
- Choices range from sweet to violent, amusing to menacing
- An avatar can be a fun, safe way for kids to explore different identities
Advice and Answers
Is Your Child a Penguin or a Ninja?
If your kids go to Web sites like Club Penguin or Webkinz or play games like World of Warcraft, then they've created alter egos called avatars. An avatar is a cartoon-like picture that represents a game player or virtual world visitor. Designing your own avatar can be fun when you're 8. You can play dress up with your Penguin or become a samurai or rocket man. As you age, the choices get dicier -- girls with wasp waists and big chests, gun-toting vigilantes, or just plain old crazy-looking people. Avatars can also do things -- show emotions, kiss, kick, shoot, make rude gestures, and, yes, have sex.Is There Anything to Worry About?
The good news is that avatars give your kids fun, safe ways to explore different personalities and express themselves while keeping their real identities secret. That said, the anonymity that avatars provide can give kids courage to act out in ways they wouldn't if they weren't disguised. When kids are cloaked by assumed identities, they can be mischievous or even bullying.Some Things to Discuss
Before your kids create alternative selves, here are some talking tips:
- Avatars can sometimes reveal something about your kids' inner lives. Ask your kids about their avatars and how much they identify with them. What do they think is like them, and what's different?
- Feel free to question the choices that kids have made. If your kids say their avatar means nothing, that's a valid response. They could just be playing around and like what they created.
- Remind your kids that online life has vast invisible audiences and that people relate to others' avatar personalities, not their real selves.
- There are lots of questions about whether avatars connect us to people or isolate us. Ask your kids what they think.
- Because skin color and body types are variable, make sure your kids aren't making stereotyped or racially charged decisions. Sure it's pretend, but prejudice is as real in cyberspace as it is in real life.
- Tell your kids that just because they're disguised doesn't mean they can't be identified. A good rule of thumb is that if your kids wouldn’t do something in real life, their avatars shouldn't, either.
