Abstract

Social virtual worlds are immersive 3D online platforms where users can socialize, own digital goods, and even earn money, blending elements of real life with video game experiences. Users interact through customizable avatars that reflect real-world movements and voices, deepening the sense of presence (Liao et al., 2020). While virtual worlds have been in existence for decades, early 2020s technological advances and societal transformations brought about by the COVID-19 have pushed the development of the social virtual worlds as “the future of the internet” (Anderson et al., 2022), inspiring tens of billions of dollars in new investments. Users of social virtual worlds create avatars to represent themselves, producing a sense of virtual physicality (Behm-Morawitz, 2013). A key research focus is understanding the relationship between individuals and their avatars—whether avatars are viewed as objects, extensions of the self, or even as offspring (Jarvenpaa et al., 2008). Avatars serve as digital identities, reflecting how users wish to be perceived as they may closely resemble or differ from their users. Much like in the physical world, users invest time and money into crafting their avatars’ appearances to project a specific image (Wasko et al., 2011). The appearance and behavior of avatars are essential for understanding user engagement, as avatars enable communication and interaction with others and the virtual environment. Thus, avatars play a central role in shaping social presence in virtual worlds. To understand this phenomenon, we first conducted a literature review. We found that identity construction can be categorized into representational and performative perspectives. We also highlighted platform affordances—such as perceived anonymity, control, and flexibility—that empower users to explore diverse identities. Overall, the review established a foundational understanding of how social virtual worlds facilitate complex, embodied identity practices in the digital age. We proposed Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) and the Needs-Affordances-Features framework (Karahanna et al., 2018) as promising lenses for future research, offering new directions to understand identity construction in evolving social virtual worlds. Higgins’ (1987) self-discrepancy theory explains how mismatches between a person’s self-concept and self-guides influence motivation and emotional well-being. In social virtual worlds, users may, representationally, create avatars that reflect their ideal or ought selves rather than their actual selves. Because of the perceived anonymity, control, and flexibility afforded by these platforms users may explore identities restricted by real-world norms. Analyzing avatar design and behavior can reveal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities tied to these self-discrepancies. We intend to explore this phenomenon through a mixed-methods approach—lab experiment, laddering interviews, and using a computer vision software that detects participants’ emotional states while engaging with a social virtual world. Moreover, drawing upon the affordances and features identified in the literature review and using cross-sectional surveys, we adapt the Need-Affordances-Features framework (Karahanna et al., 2018) to examine users’ motivations behind performing embodied identity through their avatars and how social virtual worlds fulfill users’ psychological needs through the process of identity creation. We will also examine the role of the unique platform characteristics—perceived anonymity, control, and flexibility—in moderating the relationship between social virtual world use and users’ needs. This research contributes to IS by synthesizing existing literature on identity construction in social virtual worlds, emphasizing the role of avatars in enacting embodied identity through both representational and performative means. It proposes two theoretical frameworks—Self-Discrepancy Theory and the Needs-Affordances-Features framework—to deepen understanding of users' psychological engagement and identity-related motivations. By examining how technological affordances like anonymity, control, and flexibility support identity exploration and emotional well-being, the study provides a novel, theory-driven foundation for future IS research on digital identity and user experience in immersive platforms.

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