“‘Avatar’ asks us to
see that everything is
connected, all human
beings to each other,
and us to the Earth.
And if you have to go
four-and-a-half light-
• The expression your avatar makes often affects how your communication with others is
perceived.
years to another, made-
up planet to appreciate
this miracle of the
world that we have
right here, well, you
know what, that’s the
wonder of cinema right
there, that’s the magic.”
—James Cameron, Director, ‘Avatar’ [ 13]
drawing on a repertoire of postures. In digital environments,
the direct relationship between
face and message is often
disconnected. While there is
direct control over one’s face—
an obvious advantage—that
control takes manual labor.
Social tools—instant messenger, Facebook, Twitter, to name
a few—have avatars that are,
by default, static. The access
to change is just as possible
as it is in face-to-face communications, but there is less
fluent movement from thought
to action, as the user must go
through the non-delicate process of uploading an image. If
changing one’s face required
a step-by-step process each
time—no matter what the
media—my guess is we’d all be
a lot less diplomatic. Marshall
McLuhan notwithstanding.
Recent studies show that
avatars are more than just a
pretty face. Two separate stud-
ies concluded that one’s avatar
not only affects how a message
is received, but also how indi-
viduals interpret it. The higher
the attractiveness of the ava-
tar, the more intimate people
are willing to be with strang-
ers. People with taller avatars
negotiate more aggressively in
face-to-face interactions than
participants with shorter ava-
tars [ 4]. Further, people more
frequently chose human ava-
tars that match their own gen-
der. Avatars that participants
perceived to be more attractive
were found to be more credible
and homophilous, and par-
ticipants were more likely to
choose them as their own [ 5].
add content, mix signals
When someone gives you mixed
signals, it’s difficult to know
what to read. He is agreeing to
the project, but frowning. She
is shaking her head, but saying
yes. What happens when an
avatar, the visual representation of a person’s expression, is
paired with content contrary to
his statement? Consider a pas-