Sherry Turkle: Virtuality and Its Discontents

Turkle addresses the difference between virtual reality and real life. Characters in MUDs often live out the lives their creators wish they had. This does not necessarily mean that the lives are exorbitant or overly self-indulgent, but allow for a level of social networking and middle-class comfort that is often unattainable for the students who mainly inhabit these societies.

The MUDs allow for a level of political and socially environmental empowerment that is lacking in middle-American youth culture. By allowing a space in which people who would otherwise have limited agency are able to create a comfortable environment which can be tailored to their needs as they emerge.

The link between character and creator lies in emotion, as they transcend the corporeal. In the case of relationships (and rape) the concern is the emotion and intent behind the ‘action’, and not in the actual ‘action’.