3-D Social Construction
“Self-concept is the way in which a person sees him – or herself as being. It is how individuals define themselves to themselves, and it forms the basis for the way people maintain a sense of continuity,” wrote Bernice Neugarten, Professor Emeritus in Behavioral Science and pioneer in the study of aging, long before Second Life became a virtual reality. It is events rather than the passage of time that form the basis of identity development (Vertinsky, 1991) and virtual educational environments offer individuals the opportunity to experiment with different identities.
Since self-concept influences the way people react to events that occur in their lives, we could conceivably reprogram ourselves with a different self-image in Virtual Reality utilizing Tom Robbins’ popular concept of ‘It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.’ The Virtual Social Construction of self is a reflection of how we are treated by others and the way in which society has defined us. In real life, we have much less choice in how we appear. Virtual Reality offers a whole new opportunity - and responsibility to create who we want to be. Spending time within that chosen identity forms a great practice platform for embedding sub-conscious new belief patterns within the individual through repetitive positive virtual events and experiences.
"Learning is really about identity formation - finding out and developing who you are," explains Peter Twining on the Schome Community Forum. Virtual educational environments populated by avatars offer a unique opportunity for students to explore alternative identities and develop new paradigms in social learning communities.
Dr. Wayne Dyer’s best-selling book You’ll See It When You Believe It challenges us to create more fulfilled lives by changing the way we look at things. 3-D Virtual Environments provide a powerful tool for change. We are able to control, not only the way we look at things, but also what others see when they look at us.
And who’s to say which one of your identities is more ‘real’? Sociologist W.I. Thomas (1923) wrote, “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
What new challenges will these changes entail? And what new opportunities can we encourage?
Since self-concept influences the way people react to events that occur in their lives, we could conceivably reprogram ourselves with a different self-image in Virtual Reality utilizing Tom Robbins’ popular concept of ‘It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.’ The Virtual Social Construction of self is a reflection of how we are treated by others and the way in which society has defined us. In real life, we have much less choice in how we appear. Virtual Reality offers a whole new opportunity - and responsibility to create who we want to be. Spending time within that chosen identity forms a great practice platform for embedding sub-conscious new belief patterns within the individual through repetitive positive virtual events and experiences.
"Learning is really about identity formation - finding out and developing who you are," explains Peter Twining on the Schome Community Forum. Virtual educational environments populated by avatars offer a unique opportunity for students to explore alternative identities and develop new paradigms in social learning communities.
Dr. Wayne Dyer’s best-selling book You’ll See It When You Believe It challenges us to create more fulfilled lives by changing the way we look at things. 3-D Virtual Environments provide a powerful tool for change. We are able to control, not only the way we look at things, but also what others see when they look at us.
And who’s to say which one of your identities is more ‘real’? Sociologist W.I. Thomas (1923) wrote, “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
What new challenges will these changes entail? And what new opportunities can we encourage?
Labels: alternative, community, education, schome, Social Construction, Tom Robbins, virtual reality
posted by Terra Lucero | 12:45 PM
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