PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Many adolescent females are active online, finding creative ways to express themselves through evolving social media technologies. Social virtual worlds (SVWs), distinguished by extensive avatar customization features, provide them with unique opportunities to craft virtual identities and explore diverse facets of self-presentation. This study investigates adolescent females\' construction of avatars in Zepeto, a South Korea-based global SVW platform. Employing social representation theory (SRT) as a theoretical framework, this study conducted in-depth interviews with adolescent female Zepeto users to uncover their perceptions of and motivations behind avatar creation in SVWs, as well as to explore how the interplay of virtual and real worlds presents them with various opportunities and challenges. While the prospects of SVWs remain uncertain, examining how these young users interpret and experience SVWs contributes to identifying potential strategies to enhance the sustainability of these platforms.
摘要：
许多青春期女性在网上很活跃，通过不断发展的社交媒体技术寻找创造性的表达方式。社交虚拟世界(SVW)以广泛的头像定制功能而著称，为他们提供独特的机会来制作虚拟身份并探索自我展示的各个方面。本研究调查了Zepeto的青春期女性化身的构造，基于韩国的全球SVW平台。采用社会表征理论(SRT)作为理论框架，这项研究对青少年女性Zepeto用户进行了深入访谈，以揭示他们对SVW中头像创建背后的看法和动机，以及探索虚拟和现实世界的相互作用如何为他们带来各种机遇和挑战。虽然SVW的前景仍然不确定，研究这些年轻用户如何解释和体验SVW有助于确定增强这些平台可持续性的潜在策略。
