Tuesday, August 18, 2009
WoW Freakout - Identity Crisis
I became aware of this viral video back in June '09 just from my own wondering online. It depicts a sibling secretly filming his brother's reaction to his World of Warcraft account being deleted. His subsequent freak out is a perfect example of the stock people put into creating and maintaining an online identity and the dangers associated with doing so. Turkel mentions that play has always been an important aspect in our efforts to build an identity. He points to Erikson's concept that play "allows us to 'reveal and commit' ourselves 'in its unreality.'" Through this process we emerge having discovered who we are, who we would like to be, and having formed a new identity which in this case exists online. It is clear from the teenager's reaction that his online identity was very important to him. Being that it was a WoW account, hundreds or even thousands of hours could have been invested in forming his new identity. All of his work is taken away from him when his mother deletes the account. From the mother's point of view this action may have seemed trivial and just a wayto get her son off the computer. However, Palfrey would say that the mother has actually just deleted a part of her son's social identity. While this is bad enough, it was only out of ignorance. However, when the younger brother, a Digital Native, recognizes the situation he runs for a camera to record the spectacle. This resulting viral video was an intentional attack on his older brother's already weakened social identity. This highlights the ease of which the internet allows new identities to be formed, altered, and attacked, all of which can be life changing experiences.
-Victor Soto
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I agree with your statement concerning the young man's social identity linked to World of Warcraft. I will admit that this game is entertaining, it does have its repercussions. It takes commitment to enjoy this game because in the World of Warcraft, you are anyone or anything you desire. WOW is the epitome of digital identity for anyone who is familiar with the Digital Age.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this video a few times, and at first thought it was hilarious, but then I felt pity for the young individual. I felt as if he was connected to the game to the point in which he probably utilized it for an escape from his reality. Then again taking away this online social identity can also be detrimental to this child's life.
--Kunthon Meas
This video reminds me of the 1999 film eXistenZ that deals with digital identity and how it can become emerged in real life identity. In the video the older brother clearly takes his online identity very seriously. He has a complete meltdown when he is denied access to his online community. I think the video game company may find it extremely profitable to incorporate this guy in their advertisements in someway or form because this can be a great opportunity for transemedia marketing.
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