Sexy Avatar Good for the Soul?

I was reading NewsWeek when I came across an interesting post by Sharon Begley regarding a Stanford study. The study focused on the way that people interacted with different Avatars online.

The study found that people with more attractive Avatars were more confident, better conversationalist, and had better interactions over all with other people. The Stanford study then took these same people and asked them to pick from pictures from an online dating service.

People with attractive Avatars picks much more attractive people to talk to online and said that they felt more confident about their interactions. When the subjects were asked if attractive people would be interested in them most said yes. The study found the people with attractive Avatars thought higher of themselves than those with unattractive Avatars.

The study also found that men with attractive Avatars often told the truth more online than those with unattractive ones. The study sited that most men often lie about their height online but found that men associated to an attractive Avatar were more likely to tell the truth.

The implications of this study are much larger than people’s esteem. I read this study and I am concerned that people are beginning to cross the line between their virtual self and their physical self. People are seeing their virtual presence as an extension of their physical presence.

This is fine and dandy for helping people deal with phobias and building self confidence. But what happens when people begin to confuse violence and hate online with it in the real world?

What will happen if people no longer make the distinction between online fantasy and the real world? Will we see people only interacting with other people online because they are are more confident there? Or will people use the online world to get over their social anxieties and blossom in the real world?