Skin Color Still Matters in Video Games

Avatars from Second Life. Image by LindenLab via Flickr Video games represent the ultimate in escapist technology for millions of people — a way to spend a few enjoyable hours slaying fantasy monsters or exploring science fiction worlds. But the dominant skin color of virtual avatars in a game can still have a very real-world impact on the experience of minority gamers, according to a recent study. The research, conducted by Jong-Eun Roselyn Lee at Ohio State University, used the online game “Second Life” to examine how diversity among virtual avatars affected the experience of both white and black players. She found that low-diversity representations of “Second Life” dominated by white avatars led black players to create virtual avatars that also appeared whiter. Such circumstances even made black players less willing to reveal their real racial identity through their avatars.