Getting a life: The psychological appeal of adopting virtual identities in MUDs

“First, it is necessary to look at the fascination, the allure, the reasons why people use the medium so enthusiastically, even obsessively. What are the unique features of the medium that appeal to people psychologically, and what does that say about people’s psychological needs? I believe the answer lies in the changing notions of identity that were precipitated by previous communications media. Some people are primed for the kind of communication saturation that MUDs offer because of the communication-saturated environments that have occupied their attention since birth. MUDs are part of the latest phase in a long sequence of mental changes brought about by the invention and widespread use of symbolic tools.”

— Howard Rheingold “Multi-User Dungeons and Alternate Identities” (1995)

In this passage, Rheingold is responding to an assumption made by many that users of Multi-User Dungeons, known as MUDs, “don’t have lives” or are unhealthily preoccupied with these virtual platforms. At the time of Rheingold’s article, MUDs were becoming increasingly popular and often obsessively engaged with by their users. A MUD is an online text-based virtual world, where users can create their own character and interact with each other. Before responding to whether MUDs are a misuse of time or potentially a dangerous social problem for those who play extensively, Rheingold suggests it is important to investigate the psychology behind what it is about MUDs that have such a hold over people.

Rheingold suggests here that one of the strongest appeals of MUDs is the options it provides for identity. As he points out in the article, the first task of a MUD player is to create an online identity for themselves and it is, therefore, one of the most important aspects of the game. This ability to create a unique MUD identity, as close to or distant from your personal identity as desired, has significant effects for MUDers and the entire virtual world of MUDs alike. For example, it is not uncommon that MUD users pose as a different gender, most commonly males posing as females. There have been instances, especially in the early days of MUD, where such ‘gender deception’ has lead to detrimental effects. Rheingold cites Lindsy Van Gelder who wrote, “The Strange Case of the Electronic Lover”, which gives an extreme example of such deception. A male psychiatrist not only lied about gender but an entire background for his character Joan, “Joan was a neuropsychologist, in her late twenties, living in New York, who had been disfigured, crippled, and left  mute  by  an  automobile  accident.” Joan formed deep connections and inspired the people she met online based on what had happened to her. Therefore, people were outraged when it was revealed that her story was fictional.

The appeal of creating these new identities, Rheingold suggests, is driven by increasing communication in a technologically developing world. Rheingold talks about the concept of “communication saturation” and further in his article cites social commentator Kenneth J. Gergin who talks about how media has affected interpersonal communication, “We appear to each other as single identities, unified, of whole cloth. However, with social saturation, each of us comes  to harbour a vast population of  hidden potentials-to be a blues singer, a  gypsy, an aristocrat, a criminal.” In other words, increased communication as a result of media is allowing us to interact with vast amounts of people and in turn internalise many different ways of being. Rheingold believes that this idea of social saturation can easily be applied to players of MUDs. In these virtual worlds, not only are you exposed and able to interact with a number of interesting people, but the ability to create whatever identity you wish allows for the “hidden potentials” Gergin talks about to come to life. MUDs offer a platform for people to take on whatever role they want and it is this opportunity that Rheingold believes is so psychologically appealing to MUD users and therefore underlies the obsession so many users have.