By: Yasu Gomez. At a click of a mouse or button, you can alter your attractiveness, skin tone, gender, or age. These “re-structured” images of yourself.

Social SimulationBy: Yasu Gomez

Forget makeup or surgery, we have Computers!

At a click of a mouse or button, you can alter your attractiveness, skin tone, gender, or age.

These “re-structured” images of yourself can be used as images or characters in videogames or in social communities.

Some Examples Nintendo Wii-Mii’s Xbox 360-Avatar’s Second Life Sims Simulation Game Zwinky

Gaming with Avatars Creating an avatar for gaming purposes

are becoming more and more popular. Avatars in videogames are not used so

much to socialize, but more to have fun with the features and implement how you would look like in the game.

Only sometimes may looks or even behaviors effect the social life in games. Examples of these games are Warcraft and Sims.

Social Networks with Avatars

Second Life is a very popular virtual world, where people (Avatars) meet and greet strangers online.

Over 13 million people have visited Second Life at least once and there are over 450, 000 residents online in a given week.

Popularity The most popular Social

simulation/game on the market is World of Warcraft.

With over 10 million users, who in turn pay to participate.

The average user of this software averages over 20 hours a week in the virtual world.

Studies and Research Studies at Stanford University have found

that within 90 seconds of chatting with other avatars is enough to elicit behavioral changes in real life.

“When we cloak ourselves in avatars, it subtly alters the manner in which we behave.“- Bailenson, assistant professor at Stanford University.

Experiment Researchers assessed how an avatar's attractiveness affected human

behavior, both online and off. Thirty-two volunteers were randomly assigned an attractive or unattractive avatar (attractiveness was rated by undergrads in a survey beforehand) and instructed to look at them in a virtual mirror for 90 seconds. Then they were asked to interact with other avatars, controlled by the experimenters, in a classroom-like setting. Overall, subjects using good-looking avatars tended to display more confidence, friendliness and extroversion, just as in the real world: they approached avatar strangers within three feet, and in conversations tended to disclose more personal details. Ugly-duckling avatars, meanwhile, stayed five and a half feet away from strangers and were more tight-lipped.

By: Kristina Dell

From: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1739601,00.html#ixzz0W106nwVj

Video of Virtual Conferencing

Why People Do This Mask true identity. Confidence in socializing. Easier than uploading a picture. Fun. To harass others. Meet new people.

Pros for Virtual Conversation All conversations can be done in the comfort of

your own home. No need to bring documents or other paper when

you can send all your files, media, or graphs to everyone at once.

Very time efficient.

Cons Lack of human emotions. Loss of face to face social skills. People can lie about their true

identity. Minimum confidentiality.

Is this the future? Yes, some software companies have already

implemented online interviews with future developers using avatars.

This could work because the interviewer can see how well the candidate is on the computer as well as their design of their avatar.

The possibilities are endless, the thought is riveting, exciting, scary? Maybe all of these feelings can sum up what is in store for the future of social simulation.

References http://www.time.com/time/health/arti

cle/0,8599,1739601,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rwg88ShJcc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

Thank youQuestions!!!