Designer selves: Construction of technologically mediated identity within graphical, multiuser virtual environments

The emergence of graphical, multiuser virtual environments has created new forums for the performance of identity, forums in which information system designers' decisions may influence people's presentation of self. Based on ethnographic research, this paper describes designers' actio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Society for Information Science 1999, Vol.50 (10), p.855-869
Main Author: McDonough, Jerome P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Mediated Communication
Computer Software Development
Design
Dominant Behavior
Ethnography
Exact sciences and technology
Identity (Psychological)
Information and communication sciences
Information and communication technologies
Information science. Documentation
Information technologies: storage media, equipment
MOOs
Race
Sciences and techniques of general use
Sex
Social aspects
Social Class
Social Environment
Social Status
Technical characteristics
Users (Information)
Virtual communities
Virtual Reality
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Description
Summary:The emergence of graphical, multiuser virtual environments has created new forums for the performance of identity, forums in which information system designers' decisions may influence people's presentation of self. Based on ethnographic research, this paper describes designers' actions affecting identity performance within graphical virtual environments, and the manner in which those decisions interact with larger social contexts of dominance based on race, class, and gender. I make explicit the social consequences of designer's decisions, in order to further the dialogue between social scientists and technologists, and make suggestions regarding how designers may approach the construction of virtual environments without unwittingly contributing to patterns of dominance in society.
ISSN:0002-8231
1097-4571
DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(1999)50:10<855::AID-ASI3>3.0.CO;2-6