A comparative analysis of nonverbal communication in online multi-user virtual environments

This paper is a comparative analysis of how users use and interpret nonverbal communication through avatars in online, multi-user virtual environments. The development of multi-user virtual spaces over the past thirty years has given users access to new forms of nonverbal communication, with notable advances in the kinds of and richness of the tools made available. This article examines how these virtual environments have evolved since their early inception by examining landmark platforms to represent the different periods of advancement in the capabilities of their contemporaries. It presents a framework by which we can break down nonverbal communication (NVC) into its constituent parts and examines how some forms of NVC are translated directly from face-to-face to a digital avatar, as well as novel forms of NVC that evolve from the platforms themselves. Finally, this article examines how these translated and novel forms of NVC can indicate broader trends in the ways that people communicate through digital avatars, and provides some recommendations for further research into this subject.