Bodily Experiences of Second Life Consumers (37:04)

This video investigates the meanings and presence of the body in virtual worlds where visual presentation of participants through images are allowed. To understand this phenomenon, we make observations and conduct offline and online interviews in a virtual world called Second Life. Our findings on the meanings of “avatar”, avatar construction, and avatar experiences reveal that the body in virtual worlds is symbolic in nature and enables people to playfully engage in (re)constructing several bodily selves. We call this process as "symembodiment" and our explorations reveal that body is present in virtual worlds, yet not with its physical constraints but with its symbolic meanings.



Citation:

Ebru Ulusoy and Handan Vicdan (2009) ,"Bodily Experiences of Second Life Consumers (37:04)", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 803-803.

Authors

Ebru Ulusoy, The University of Texas-Pan American, USA
Handan Vicdan, The University of Texas-Pan American, USA



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36 | 2009



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