In computing , an avatar is a graphical representation of a user , the user's character , or persona. Avatars can be two-dimensional icons in Internet forums and other online communities, where they are also known as profile pictures , userpics , or formerly picons personal icons, or possibly "picture icons". Alternatively, an avatar can take the form of a three-dimensional model , as used in online worlds and video games, or an imaginary character with no graphical appearance, [ 1 ] as in text-based games or worlds such as MUDs.
Richard Garriott extended the term to an on-screen user representation in , and the term gained wider adoption in Internet forums and MUDs. Nowadays, avatars are used in a variety of online settings including social media , virtual assistants , instant messaging platforms, and digital worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life. They can take the form of an image of one's real-life self, as often seen on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn , or a virtual character that diverges from the real world.
Often, these are customised to show support for different causes, or to create a unique online representation. Academic research has focused on how avatars can influence the outcomes of communication and digital identity.
Users can employ avatars with fictional characteristics to gain social acceptance or ease social interaction. However, studies have found that the majority of users choose avatars that resemble their real-world selves. In Norman Spinrad 's novel Songs from the Stars , the term avatar is used in a description of a computer generated virtual experience.
In the story, humans receive messages from an alien galactic network that wishes to share knowledge and experience with other advanced civilizations through "songs". The humans build a "galactic receiver" that allows its users to engage in "artificial realities". One experience is described as such: [ 4 ]. You stand in a throng of multifleshed being, mind avatared in all its matter, on a broad avenue winding through a city of blue trees with bright red foliage and living buildings growing from the soil in a multitude of forms.
