The paper starts by explaining the concept of human identity and what shapes it. Essentially, human identity and what it represents has evolved over time. The authors divide this evolution into three stages: The “Pre-Modern Stage,” (feudal system, you are born into your identity, societal structure) the “Modern Stage,” (where we are now, nature vs nurture) and the “Post-Modern Stage.” (where we are headed - identity shaped or even created by a virtual environement). The authors view 3D environments and virtual worlds as places where we can basically control our own identity by creation of avatars and how our avatars interact in virtual worlds with other avatars. They call this the "distributed self", a post modernist new form of human identity shaped by the virtual environments we participate in.
Honestly, the concept of a virtual world having such an impact on our identity as human beings is a little disturbing to me. Anyone can go online and make an avatar or pretend to be someone that they aren't - this doesn't change their identity as humans. They are who they are, whether they like it or not. The authors of the paper seemed a little too excited about the prospect of computers taking over the world. Human identity is more than simply a pattern of information in some kind of storage space, as the authors reference. It can't be replaced by an avatar. 3D environments aren't going to change the way we live or reshape our identity as humans. Technology is and should remain a supplement to the way we live, not a replacement.
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