The Virtual Self

The new radically social habit of tracking our behaviours and preferences is booming. From Facebook timelines to Google Navigator to Twitter, we generate enormous amounts of online data about our activities: where we go, what we do, how we feel. In The Virtual Self, journalist Nora Young examines this growing phenomenon of self-tracking - why it's compulsive, its attractions and benefits, the dangers surrounding privacy and information control, and moreover, what it means for our sense of self. Fascinating and entertaining, and offering unique insights into our emerging technological culture, The Virtual Self takes the personal, psychological reality of everything from smart phones to social networking and teases out the increasing impact of the virtual information we all produce on the real world around us.

The host of CBC Radio's Spark explores the very real impact of the virtual information we generate about ourselves -- on our own lives, our communities, and our government. We generate enormous amounts of online data about our habits: where we go, what we do, and how we feel. Some of that is stuff we choose to report; some of it is the offhand data trails we leave behind. The Virtual Self looks at the debates and challenges around virtual data-sharing -- from Facebook status updates to Google Navigator -- and its potential for building more responsive communities and governments. Nora argues that if we wrestle now with issues like privacy and data control, we can harness the power of that data. The host of CBC Radio's Spark, Nora Young has fascinating information at her disposal, unique insights into the intersection of the virtual and real worlds, and a wonderful voice for making all of these clear to a general audience. Accessible and entertaining, The Virtual Self takes that personal, psychological reality of everything from email to status updates and teases out the increasingly bigger impacts on the real world around us of the virtual information we all generate.

The Virtual Self is an engaging and exciting text that addresses issues relating to our rapidly changing society, social structure, and communication needs. In doing so, it addresses major issues in sociology that inform virtually all of a student’s course work. Introduces students to concepts of the self and society in an age of rapid technology and high speed communication Examines the relationship between everyday life and social structure in key domains of communication, personality, work/family, leisure and entertainment, and economics Written in a lively, engaging style for readers without a sociological background

"This book provides insights to better enhance the understanding of technology's widespread intertwinement with human identity within an advancing technological society"--Provided by publisher.

It has been my experience and observation of students of Buddhism, that after an initial period of enthusiastic practice, they get stuck. They come to the edge of a gap, and can't go back but are stuck going forward. The edge of this gap represents the boundary that defines the results of their efforts so far. Serious effort has been given to practice and to incorporating the fundamentals of the Buddha's method into their lives. Nevertheless, the practitioner I have in mind feels not only stuck but somewhat disheartened perhaps. Having exhausted the youthful enthusiasm that naturally arises upon discovery of the Buddha's path, one now feels a lack of joy. Looking beyond the boundary line of the gap, there seems to be a vast space between where one is now and the ultimate goal of enlightenment. The Virtual Self: Beyond the Gap in Buddhist Philosophy offers some suggestions for renewing one's inspiration and a way to joyfully navigate that sacred space beyond the gap.

The text analyses identities within virtual on-screen environments. Investigating regions in Second Life, it explores topical issues of the body in virtual space, nature and mythology in virtual environments, and the key arguments surrounding normative and subversive representations of gender, sexuality and subversion in screen-based environments.

This book is inspired by the contemporary fascination with virtual reality and growing presence of this type of technology in everyday life. It explores the ways in which virtual reality evokes illusory transformation responses. The power of virtual reality is in making the mediation by technology in these experiences appear irrelevant to cognitive processes, so much so that it is often assumed that skills acquired in virtual environments are generally transferable to the physical world. However, cognition is affected by virtual reality technology, which is reflected in issues related to virtual embodiment, choice of spatial strategies, differences in neural and electrophysiological patterns associated with movement processing when navigating virtual vs. physical environments, and, at least to some extent, in virtual proxemics. In addition to spatial cognition, the book explores the sense of self in virtual reality, social interaction and virtual togetherness, action and motor cognition, calling to mind debates from philosophy, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.

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 architecture Video games as a tool for self-understanding Avatars and the meaning behind them Game transfer phenomena A Jungian perspective on technology Politics of social media The history and science of video game play Transcendent virtual reality experiences The theophoric quality of video games