Why have an Avatar?

Discussions in class have really forced me to ask myself, why would people do this? Why do people invest so much time and energy into a false virtual persona. I realize that everyone is wierd in their own way and almost everyone would like to pretend to be someone else or pretend to be a better version of themselves. I get that. It makes sense. There is something innately appealing about anonymitity in our nature as humans. But what i don't get is why so many people waste innumerable hours in front of a computer screen pretending to be this fictional character. Yeah, I understand how it is a great marketing idea and can be and is used to make bank with subscriptions to different virtual worlds, but really, what is the point?

I've heard plenty of reasons why people chose to participate in these sorts of things but I'm not convinced they're all good reasons let alone ligitimate ones. I'm not surprised with the number of users considering all the weird trends in the past the revolve around the limits of human imagination. For example, there was Dungeons and Dragons that all the college nerds played in the 70s back when our parents were in college. Since then there have been a ridiculous amount of similar fads such as Magic the trading card game and others. Several friend of my more or less coerced me into a trial run of the virtual second life world. Skeptical, but open to being proven wrong, I tried to live my second life. Even after having experienced a taste of realm, the point still remains, its dumb.

I understand that it can be a very usefull tool especially in construction and design businesses but those who use it as a hobby should really do more. Seriously, stop. Think for a minute. When was the last time you had a few hours to yourself and you decided to spend it hiking alone or even with a (human) friend through the tranquill woods just listening to the sounds appreciating and taking in all the natural beauty surrounding you that you can only experience in person? Or the last time you found yourself paddling down a raging river of crashing writhing waves and gargling bubbling white foam and a face-numbing freezing spray of mountain snow melt? Have you ever found yourself sitting co-pilot to a friend who hands you the controls to a twin prop plane to fly yourself? Or experienced the magic of the ocean in its most beautiful perfect form, as you glide across the surface stuck in that slow motion sense of perfect reality where everything makes sense and nothing else matters?
None of these things can truely be done inside at a computer. I don't care what people say about virtual tours through ancient european castles, it doesn't do justice to experiencing the real thing.

Avatars as social networking tools is another of the reasons I've heard for participating. Well, save your receipt because that's bullshit. If you grew up around other humans then you should know that no computer as of now can come even remotely close to immitating real human interaction. Yeah sure, you hear what they're saying but it all comes rolling back to the same issue, the social cues. In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that online character take away from one's personal interaction skills. They begin to forget to secognize the signs and gestures that say, "Yes, I like you, we should hang out again sometime," or, "No, you're uncomfortably bizzare and creep me out." For example, if you're out on a date with a girl and things are going well but you're not quite sure what she expects, there are moments in your interaction that directly tell you what the other is thinking. Sometimes there is a moment where you catch eye contact even just a glimpse where its almost awkward but deeply personal and both of you have that slight grin and you know for sure how she feels. Those moments cannot be replicated or even immitated with the best of today's technologies. So for the sake of whatever you hold valuable, get off the damn computer and go outside! Do something that makes you feel like you again. Go on a date. Go do something dangerous. Do something to make you feel alive and real!