Still a vague and distant concept, the metaverse is often defined as a parallel universe made up of virtual worlds. Many companies, such as Meta or Microsoft, invest in their construction. Their users – who can have fun, work and socialize there – will be represented by avatars, their virtual identity, more or less close to their own identity. Creating this digital representation is also one of the first tasks people must do when they enter a virtual world.
An avatar can have an appearance that is true to the user or completely different. In the metaverse, people are not only prone to present themselves in a different form, but also to adopt a different behavior.
The avatar, is a way to play with your identity
To understand these representations, but also to imagine the future characteristics of this universe of digital worlds, the French company Webedia, which specializes in online media, conducted a study of people aged 18 to at 34. He understood the subject thanks to the video game as a virtual alternative world. From his observation it can be seen that the avatar corresponds to a “separate self”, where we see especially the desires of the player. It is a field of self-expression and self-affirmation.
According to Michael Stora, a psychologist and psychoanalyst who founded the Observatory of Digital Worlds in the Humanities, individuals can use this digital representation to embody another person they are not used to: “Basically, avatar incarnation is always, in fact, a form of self-presentation that is not always thought of. We all have within us, sometimes, a mask that we wear socially, but the mask that we often present in virtual spaces comes to prove something in itself that, sometimes, is not always accepted. For example, if you are a person who is restrained and shy in life, your avatar will be completely extroverted. »
He believes that this virtual identity is probably a form of betrayal of the social self, but also of cross-dressing and the ability to be able to act what a person would not normally dare to do.
“The question of ethics and empathy is at the heart of virtual worlds. »
Michael Stora
Psychologist
This is one of the advantages of the avatar: it allows you to play with your identity. However, this can be dangerous, especially in the context of addiction. For the psychologist, addiction is a form of avoidance of the real Me to, above all, the virtual Me. It is therefore possible that the digital self dominates the real self in such a way that an individual no longer dares to be, act and be heard in the real world.
A problem observed by influencers on social networks like Instagram: “They are ultimately avatars with a hypertrophied virtual Me with an economic model behind it, sometimes to the detriment of the real Me. This type of false self can lead to a pathology similar to a kind of burnout. By becoming only an idealized and virtual I, our true I no longer has the right to exist, but it is clear that we cannot avoid forever what we really are. »
Another danger of avatars: in virtual worlds, they are the only way – apart from the sound of the voice – to identify the user. In other words, if this digital representation allows us to be what we dare not, it can also be used to say what we do not say, sometimes for the worse. A person can make racist or hateful words because they can hide behind their avatar, but also because they understand the other in a virtual way. “The question of ethics and empathy is at the heart of virtual worlds: even before what we see happening in the metaverses, we see how destructive and intensely aggressive the virtual relationship is. It is obvious that the reflection of this worlds is to find the sources of design, of the technological stage that makes it possible to rethink another avatar as a person who has the capacity to be and who is not something that can manipulate or destroy”by Michael Stora.
During this conference in the metaverse, the psychologist proposed a solution “pretty crazy” to fight racism and sexism: a form of symbolic punishment that consists of forcing a user to embody the avatar of the person they harmed for a period of time so that they realize the violence of their act. In the case of racism, this means forcing a white avatar to embody a black avatar for a month or two.
The question of time is essential to elicit empathy: “In general, there is the idea that over time things, in emotional processes, exist. Just because you go there for an hour does not mean that you will feel emotions that are unique in your appearance in an avatar.”declared the psychoanalyst.
While virtual reality is seen as a way to regain empathy, these experiences should not last long. For Michael Stora, it takes a month or two to feel or imagine what it would be like to experience racism, for example.
The need for rules in the face of excessive avatars
When the metaverse is built, some social problems are already in its first iterations. Since February, Meta has offered a feature to protect users from harassment on its virtual reality platforms. named Personal Boundaries, this is a personal boundary that prevents avatars from approaching each other. This feature is introduced in a context where two women claim to have been sexually harassed by avatars in the virtual spaces of Meta.
While this type of behavior is punished in the real world, this is not yet the case in the metaverse. Rules must be invented for these digital worlds. The French are also in favor of it: according to an Ifop poll, they are 47% in favor of establishing the same rules in virtual worlds as in the real world in the States.
According to Michael Stora, this is a real social issue: “The Internet is built on an exciting diktat that is freedom of expression, a space where it is possible to say everything, show everything and, finally, be able to break a form of social and perhaps social hypocrisy that repressive. We quickly realize the excesses since, in the end, it is through specific legal frameworks that, for example, racist words are punished. »
In addition to the need for a legal arsenal that is close to the real world of virtual spaces, he believes that the challenge of the future will be modest: “We can fully imagine that in the metaverses there is a moderation that is really up to par, something that should already exist in the big social networks. I mean, simply, a force like the force of order or like in the Police Secours, people who enforce the law and, why not, impose punishments such as banishment. »
Beyond the avatars, the psychologist – started by working on video games at the Observatory and has an interest in social networks – fears that Meta seeks to create his economic and philosophical model of the metaverse, which is performance, success or even. beauty at all costs. He also finds it disturbing that thinking about this universe, at the moment, is mainly about how to make more money because these are the “businessman” who is most invested in it. In addition to companies seeking to develop the metaverse, these virtual worlds are increasingly attracting brands, many of which want to offer their products to users. The question of rules was thus not answered when the need began to be felt.