Avatar. Identità e Sé nella realtà virtuale

The article, through an ethnographic investigation in the well-known virtual reality called Second Life, attempts to analyze what an avatar is and what its functions are in the virtual world. To this end, the author has observed the role of the avatar in the expression of different, virtual but real identities, the different modes of participation in virtual reality, and the consequences of a multiple identity on a Self that can be said to be dialogical in that it is always contextually different depending on its relationship with the environment and with the other avatars with whom it interacts.