Avatar and the Creation of Digital Self

There are definitive boundaries between life and the digital world. Boundaries which cannot be physically crossed. The notion of avatar has been developed as a means to create some literal notion of digital identity and help to bridge the ethereal layer between the real and not so real. While we have lived with these notions for some time, I believe it was initially introduced in the Disney movie Tron and was further developed as a notion through the Ultima games where the hero was labelled an avatar. The origins of the concept stem back to the Hindus. There have been several news stories over the last couple of months which have involved several game developers immortalising disadvantaged and in-need children in to their games. The release of Rainbow Six: Vegas on Xbox 360 last year allowed gamers to scan their own faces in to the game with the Xbox camera. They could then battle out on multiplayer with a pretty accurate depiction of themselves online. Now, there are participants in Second Life who have created cemeteries for players who have passed on in the real world. An online funeral for a WOW player was gatecrashed last year creating some amusement and consternation for gamers and non-gamers alike. Is there an underlying spirituality developing behind these concepts as gamers strive to create some notion of immortality by summoning an online simulacrum of themselves to continue to live in cyberspace beyond their physical beings? Where will it possibly end?

People don't like to talk about religion or the notion of immortality any more. Where discussion around the dinner table was once either focussed on politics or the state of the church, people now tend to find these things somewhat passée. While 'religions' such as scientology continue to appeal to celebrities and find a place alongside their over inflated wallets, these varied notions of spirit don't necessarily correspond very realistically to the virtual world. The notion of avatar is originally attributed to the Hindus. It refers to the summoning of the deva, or higher being, to the physical manifestation on Earth. Or, to put it more simply, it refers to one of the Hindu gods taking human form. Christianity also develops this notion through Christ, where Jesus is the physical manifestation of God. I guess, considering mankind invented the internet then the similarities between the use of the term avatar and our manifestation of self on the internet are actually very close.

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