Virtual Worlds and Cyber Friends

The Internet provides new ways for people to interact and socialise that were unimaginable a few years ago. Gaming worlds host over 5 million players, where thousands of people interact and play online simultaneously.

Virtual environments let people create their own digital identity with their own unique psychology. However, when people create their own representation what does it say about them? What can the digital world tell us about how we interact in the real one?

When online do we treat people differently? How do the software and hardware change how we would normally act in the real world?

With so many ways new ways of being and befriending, how will our online identities develop in the future? Will we have a united or fractured personality?

Come discover the future technology, psychology and society of virtual worlds.

Try some virtual socialising skills with Nintendo DS’s Pictochat function.*

*Consoles are provided on deposit of credit card or driver’s licence

Event organised by:
The Science Museum.

Speakers:

Tim Guest, author of Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds
Aleks Krotoski, psychologist and games blogger, The Guardian
Stephen Reid, Game Services Manager, NCsoft
Jo Twist, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Public Policy Research

Host:
Gareth Jones, TV presenter

Supported by Nintendo