Anthropology of Disembodiment
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Definition
“Disembodiment occurs when a person’s identity is separated from their physical presence (Slater, 2002)” and “there are others who believe engaging in CMC does not cause disembodiment of identity (Turkle, 1994, 1997), but instead acts as a catalyst for ‘re-embodiment’ and self-transformation (Pearce, 2009).”[1]
Therapeutic Disembodiment
AaronMillerand believes that "online interactions do facilitate a therapeutic process that stems into the offline world. Drawing on examples from my paper, specifically Peter, his online interactions helped him to develop the confidence to actually go out into the “real” world and meet people (Turkle, 1994). Before his involvement in the MUD, Peter online had one friend, being his college roommate and spent the majority of his time studying (Turkle, 1994)," and he brings up "another case that clearly illustrates this is Lynn. Lynn, who suffered paralysis after an accident, joined an online RPG and created an avatar to represent the person she once was, a very active person in the community (Pearce, 2009). Lynn used her avatar as an extension of herself to help people the way she used to prior to her accident, which she stated helped bring her out of her depression to start living her life (Pearce, 2009). In these cases, I think online interactions have definitely had an impact on their offline issues.[2]
Research on Disembodiment and Cyberspace
Symbolic and Experiential Consumption of Body in Virtual Worlds: from (Dis)Embodiment to Symembodiment (pdf). Vol. 1. No. 2 ISSN: 1941-8477 “Virtual Worlds Research: Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds” November 2008. Handan Vicdan, College of Business Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American; Ebru Ulusoy, College of Business Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American.
References
- ↑ Disembodiment and Re-embodiment of Identity in Multi-Player Dungeons and Online Role Playing Games 25/04/2010 by AaronMillerand. Online Conference on Networks and CommunitiesDepartment of Internet Studies, Curtin University of Technology.
- ↑ AaronMillerand in comment to Jordannaepp. Disembodiment and Re-embodiment of Identity in Multi-Player Dungeons and Online Role Playing Games 25/04/2010 by AaronMillerand. Online Conference on Networks and CommunitiesDepartment of Internet Studies, Curtin University of Technology.
