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Published on: March 1, 2017
Public Self-Consciousness and Anticipatory Avatar Customization in Korean Metaverse Platform
Upyong Hong1,2, Hyenyeong Chung1,2, Yunju Nam2,3
1Department of Media and Communication, College of Liberal Arts, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|August 8, 2026
Summary
Public self-consciousness influences virtual identity. Korean metaverse users with higher social awareness created avatars reflecting appropriateness proactively, rather than reactively modifying them for public contexts.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Virtual Reality Studies
Background:
- Metaverse platforms facilitate virtual identity exploration.
- Public self-consciousness impacts social behavior and self-presentation.
- Understanding avatar customization is key to virtual interaction research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between public self-consciousness and avatar customization in Korean metaverse environments.
- To explore whether individuals anticipate public contexts when designing avatars.
- To examine cultural influences on virtual self-representation.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: 50 Korean university students created avatars in iFland under varied conditions (free, private, public, actual-self).
- Study 2: 100 raters assessed the public suitability of freely created avatars.
- Statistical analysis was used to determine the significance of findings (p < 0.05).
Main Results:
- 96% of participants created avatars distinct from their actual appearance.
- Higher public self-consciousness and agreeableness correlated with less avatar modification for public contexts.
- Avatars created without explicit public context modification were rated as more publicly suitable.
Conclusions:
- Socially conscious individuals may proactively design avatars for public appropriateness.
- Korean cultural emphasis on social harmony might encourage anticipatory virtual identity customization.
- Further cross-cultural research is needed to generalize findings on virtual self-representation.
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