[sl/intern/teen]- Heritage and Culture within TSL
Heritage and culture - they define our identity. No matter where we turn, we are unconsciously exposed to snippets of other cultures, whether it is the taco restaurant around the corner or the fashionable kimonos at the mall. In today's global society, cultures are fusing - we have acquired numerous cultural characteristics that are not native to us. As members of a global MMORPG such as TSL, we need to question ourselves: do we parallel the real world by exhibiting and recognizing other cultures within our grid or do we assimilate?
On March 15, 2008, the Heritage and Culture within TSL intern event was held. The purpose of this event was to discuss if and how does culture play a role in TSL. We started off by defining what one would consider culture and heritage. We came to a consensus that heritage and culture are characteristics that are displayed by one's family origins that are shared by a regional or ethnic group. From there, we routed to the interactive map activity!
Red cylindrical place markers were distributed to the participants. Participants were encouraged to place two markers on the countries/nations of their family background. One participant was not able to place markers due to a lack of knowledge of their background, which did not hinder their participation in the discussion. After that, we proceeded to the next activity, which was an inventory scavenger hunt! The primary objective of the inventory scavenger hunt was to find an object that portrayed one's culture or background or any other particular culture or background. The participants appeared to have some difficulty in this activity. Regardless of the difficulties, we discussed how culture and heritage had an impact in TSL.
Interestingly, the difficulties in completing the second activity demonstrated an intriguing social dynamic in TSL. The participants were not able to find anything that distinguished their culture or the culture of someone else (this was surprising because the event was held around the same time St. Patrick's Day occurred). Through our short discussion (my SL client had crashed ) we came to the conclusion that irrespective of how global TSL may appear, TSL residents do not significantly display any sort of cultural distinction in their online activities. In the eyes of some, TSL residents attempt to assimilate into the TSL culture around them.
Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to pose the following questions or thoughts, so I shall pose them here and now. Due to the fact that TSL is marketed to numerous cultures, one would assume that the atmosphere on TSL is as diverse as the real world. However, according to the results of our discussion, it is foolish to assume so. Why? Why would it be uncanny to believe that TSL has a lack of cultural distinction when you have residents from both hemispheres? This question can only be answered by examining the past, present and the human psyche. As I had mentioned during our discussion, the United States in particular demonstrated what would be called a 'cultural melting-pot' during the 1950s. Offspring of immigrants abandoned their distinctively ethnic surnames for more 'Americanized' ones. Families attempted to mimic that of a Norman Rockwell painting. Consumers began to shop around for the latest trends because their friends said so. Why? The answer is simple: acceptance. Acceptance is something that everyone desires. The only big difference between the atmosphere of the 1950s and the atmosphere of TSL is that TSL is TSL. You are a character on TSL. One may decide to change their online persona in fear of not being accepted. After all, it is said that, out of all of the age groups, teens are the most critical of their peers. Perhaps some teens feel it is best to display little cultural distinctions out of fear of alienation. Or, perhaps some teens dislike or are embarrassed of their culture. Perhaps. Until we start asking questions, we can only continue to premise. Regardless, we should strive to make TSL a diverse place where residents feel comfortable with sharing their culture and heritage with their TSL peers and the general TSL community.
