Me, my Self and my Avatar Some microsociological reflections on "Second Life"

More than most other web applications, Second Life illustrates the potential of the Internet to amplify the fragmentation of human personality by inducing a manifold of "dummy identities" strictly dissociated from the piloting core personality behind the screen. In contrast to partialized offline identities as they emerge as correlates of "crossing social circles" (Georg Simmel), they transport only cues that are consciously intended and that are permanently amenable to intentional change. It is speculated that such "distributed personhood" is functional for freeing personal presence, interpersonal interactions and social memberships from the limitations of time and space, but that it has disintegrative effects which call for counteracting face-to-face interactions.