Boundaries of Self and Reality Online: Implications of Digitally Constructed Realities

As technology continues to rapidly advance, individuals and society are profoundly changed. So too are the tools used to measure this universe and, therefore, our understanding of reality improves. Boundaries of Self and Reality Online examines the idea that technological advances associated with the Internet are moving us in multiple domains toward various "edges." These edges range from self, to society, to relationships, and even to the very nature of reality. Boundaries are dissolving and we are redefining the elements of identity. The book begins with explorations of the digitally constructed self and the relationship between the individual and technological reality. Then, the focus shifts to society at large and includes a contribution from Chinese researchers about the isolated Chinese Internet. The later chapters of the book explore digital reality at large, including discussions on virtual reality, Web consciousness, and digital physics.

Cyberpsychology architectureVideo games as a tool for self-understandingAvatars and the meaning behind themGame transfer phenomenaA Jungian perspective on technologyPolitics of social mediaThe history and science of video game playTranscendent virtual reality experiencesThe theophoric quality of video games

1. The Dimensions of Cyberpsychology Architecture

Section A. Self Online 2. Understanding the Self Through the Use of Digitally Constructed Realities 3. Flipping Out: Avatars and Identity 4. Avatar Lives: Narratives of Transformation and Identity 5. Internet Use and Self-Development in Chinese Culture 6. Beyond the Boundaries of the Game: The Interplay Between In-Game Phenomena, Structural Characteristics of Video Games, and Game Transfer Phenomena 7. The Self–Other Topology: The Politics of (User) Experience in the Like Economy 8. The Shadow of Technology: Psyche, Self, and Life Online

Section B. Simulation or Reality? 9. The Video Gaming Frontier 10. The Incarnated Gamer: The Theophoric Quality of Games, Gaming, and Gamers 11. Games, Dreams and Consciousness: Absorption and Perception, Cognition, Emotion 12. Looking for the Ultimate Display: A Brief History of Virtual Reality 13. Virtual Reality Wave 3 14. Internet Dreaming—Is the Web Conscious? 15. The Information Age, Virtual Reality, and the Bigger Picture