Constructing Identity Online: ChatRoulette

Looking for a Random Stranger

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/weekinreview/21bilton.html?scp=1&sq=Chatroulette&st=cse

ChatRoulette:

ChatRoulette is a social website that connects random strangers to through webcams.

Creator: Russian Andrew Ternovskiy, 17 years old

Launched November 2009

Creating Your Identity on ChatRoulette:

·      Requires a camera and microphone

·      No Log-in necessary

·      No registration

·      Users are encouraged to be at least 16 years old but the age limit is not enforced

·      Prohibits pornographic material

·      Ability to ‘disconnect’ from conversation

·      Screenshots, black screens, empty rooms—still creating identity?

·      If using webcam and showing one’s true self, they aren’t able to hide behind a written description. As David Huffaker and Sandra Calvert argue, "While physical constraints such as the body, biological sex, race, or age can have a profound effect on self-definition and self-presentation (Collins & Kuczaj, 1991), many of these attributes become flexible in online environments. In a virtual world, one even gets to construct one's body. The anonymity afforded to youth within virtual worlds allows adolescents more flexibility in exploring their identity through their language, their role play, and the personae they assume" ( David A. Huffaker and Sandra L. Calvert http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html) this does not apply in ChatRoulette as the camera adds a new dimension to creating one’s identity. Users are able to choose what clothes to wear, where to chat, background music, etc. The live aspect both limits and enhances the users’ identity.

·       

Frequent ChatRoulette Identities

·      Strangers just sitting at home surfing the web

·   College students (usually groups of kids)

·   Weird/Creative people

·   Sketchy/Creepy older men

http://nymag.com/news/media/63663/

“Real” Celebrities on ChatRoulette

·      Ben Folds- Musician played an improv ChatRoulette during a concert in Charlotte, N.C. 

<o

·      Paris Hilton

·      Chris Brown

·      Ashton Kutcher

**Users have claimed to have interacted with these celebrities while on ChatRoulette, but none of them are certain. Creates an ethical issue of stealing/’borrowing’ one’s identity

Reactions to ChatRoulette

•“chat with the most socially depraved people you will ever interact with” (http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/the-24-best-chat-roulette-screenshots-nsfw)

•“I hadn’t felt this socially trampled since I was an overweight 12-year-old struggling to get through recess without having my shoes mocked. It was total e-visceration. If this was the future of the Internet, then the future of the Internet obviously didn’t include me.” -Sam Anderson(http://nymag.com/news/media/63663/)




Sources:


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/weekinreview/21bilton.html?scp=1&sq=Chatroulette&st=cse
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/chatroulettes-founder-17-introduces-himself/?scp=2&sq=ChatRoulette&st=cse
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/new-site-unmasks-chatroulette-players/?scp=4&sq=ChatRoulette&st=cse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatroulette

Computer Games: But are they Art?

http://www.e-kidstoys.co.uk/video_games.jpg

How does Adams define art? Do you agree with his definition?

In defining art, Adams first refers to Encyclopedia Britannica’s definition of art, as it claims there are many different types of art. Continuing with this definition, Adams breaks art into different types including:

            -Literary Arts: writing and drama- categorized by presence of the narrative (includes film and television) and object/method

            - Fine Arts: sculpture, painting, music and dance

            - Decorative Arts: wallpaper, fabrics and furnishings

            - Architecture/Industrial Design

In his definition, Adams clarifies that “the boundaries between art and non-art are not hard and fast; there is a gray area” (Adams, 255).

Adams continues to explain that art must:

-       Contain content

-       Have an aesthetic

-       Have ideas

-       Make you feel things

-       Not formulaic

Although I am not really experienced in art, I have to agree with Adam’s definition of the word. Nowadays people have different experiences and beliefs and are all so unique that art to one person may be trash to another. Having one concrete definition of art would be very limiting, as it would restrict new or even old things/pieces to be considered as art. In addition, this wide/vague definition of art allows different people and cultures to have different opinions of art. If the world was going to define art according to one culture, the art of art would be lost. Adam’s definition of art gives artists/regular people the opportunity to create any type of art. Since art gives artists and regular people the freedom to express oneself, an open definition of art allows for the freedom of expression through art.

  = 

http://static.commentcamarche.net/en.kioskea.net/faq/images/2574-mario-top-10-games-s-.png

http://www.artnewsblog.com/famous-paintings/mona-lisa/mona-lisa-painting.jpg

According to Adams, what is needed for videogames to be considered as art?

According to Adams, a videogame must fulfill 7 criteria points.

1.     The videogame must look beyond ‘fun and games.’

a.     Adams uses adults and theme parks to explain this point; he argues that adults don’t usually spend time at theme parks and aren’t really entertained by the usual emotions of ‘funny’ or horror’ so for a videogame to be considered an art, the videogame must go further than just creating entertainment or a good laugh.

2.     The videogame needs an aesthetic.

a.     Adams explains that for a videogame to be considered an art, it must be ‘harmonious,’ or become like a second-nature. Adams asks the questions: “Is it smooth, easy and natural?” of videogames in considering them as an art.

3.     The videogame developers must experiment.

a.     Adams argues that creators cannot just stick with things they know- they must try new mediums, challenge themselves as well as the player/viewer. By doing this, developers have the opportunity to change the way we look at videogames.

4.     The videogame must challenge the player.

a.     Adams states “Great art challenges the viewer. It demands the viewer to grow, expand his or her mind, see things they have never seen before, think things they have not thought before”(261). For videogames to be considered an art, they must also challenge the viewer to grow and develop in unexpected ways.

5.     The videogame awards’ must change.

a.     Adams argues that the current awards for videogames are about craft and not art and that they should be switched; “Game awards must honor aesthetic content, not merely technological prowess” (262).

6.     The videogame must have critics, not just reviewers.

a.     Adams argues that currently, videogames have no critics, and to be considered an art, videogames must have critics. “Real critics bring to their profession not just a knowledge of the medium they are discussing, but wide reading and an understanding of aesthetics and the human condition. An art form requires not just reviewers that can compare with one work with another, but critics who can discuss the meaning of a game in a larger context” (262).

7.     The videogame requires and artist.

a.     Adam claims that the artists’ name must be ‘household names’ and known around the world; “For games to be taken seriously as an art form, the people who make them must receive adequate public recognition” (264).

Source: "Will Computer Games Ever Be a Legitimate Art Form?" Ernest W. Adams. pg. 255-264.

The Ethics of Digital Games

 Source: http://myvideo-zoolander.blogspot.com/2009/04/gamer-revolution.html

According to the film, Gamer Revolution, what are the pros and cons of playing videogames for individuals and societies?

As seen in the film, there are many different pros and cons of playing videogames. For individuals, videogames gives them something more than a book. Numerous people stated in the film that videogames provide players with the role of an "active participant" while providing color and motion while a book is simply black and white where the reader is an recipient. In addition, videogames provide a medium of expression for both individuals and societies. 

Using the Korean gamers as an example, digital games also create a sort of community for society and individuals.  Digital games provide a mean for people to connect through a common interest. It also boosts the economy/certain supporters.through branding.


In one game in America, America's Army, this game supports the army society and encourages people to join the army or provides them with insight into what soldiers in the army do. The game is changing attitudes about the army, ultimately increasing enrollment rates.

According to the film, Gamer Revolution, is there any evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and antisocial actions in the real world? Do you agree?

The film did not provide any concrete information that digital games could encourage aggressive values or antisocial actions in the real world. There was one researcher, Weber who found that there was a connection between aggressive action and aggressive brain activity but not behavior. 

The film also talked about a lawyer who claimed there was a connection between the actions and behavior but the film didn't really go into it.

Should governments have the right to ban certain games? Why or why not?

It depends... In America for instance, no. Because the army/government have created and encourage the usage of America's Army, the government should not have the right to ban certain games because they are promoting the usage of their own violent game. Other countries though, countries with government that don't promote violent videogames have the right to ban certain games because they are not promoting violent games themselves.

Case Study:

During our class discussion, I had the opportunity to talk with "Student A."  Student A enjoys playing the SIMS because he/she enjoys being able to create almost anything and have control over the characters' actions and lives. He/she found that some of the characters' actions that he/she weren't able to control were sometimes questionable.