What do avatars say about people?

[Cosmic]

So, I've been thinking about this lately, and will probably evenly write a blog post: what does someone's avatar say about them on a forum? Does someone's avatar effect how you interpret the posts they make?

For example, if someone's avatar is of a grinning pirate, is it more likely for you to think that person is a troll than if that person's avatar is of a kitten? If someone's avatar is smiling, do they come off generally as being nicer people than if their avatar looks mean, evil, etc? Could it even be that people subconsciously post nicer things when they have a nicer looking avatar?

Or maybe I'm looking into this too much, and people just choose avatars which reflect their personality.

What do you think? Have you noticed this?

 

[Shole]

My thoughts are that the avatars are important for the first impression. Let's take yourself as an example. Your avatar is from an anime, therefore a fan of the show will have a more positive first impression about you due to the fact that you have something in common.
Thing is first impressions could be wrong (not in your case 😉 ) therefore we use the avatar only for a first impression and afterwards to remember the person alongside with their name.
But after the first impression I think the avatar becomes only a factor in identifying the member.

So I would say that the avatar is semi important 😀

 

[Wiz.]

I've never actually really put any thought into what avatars say about people. When thinking about it now, I really can't decide if it says anything about them or not. I mean sure, you could come up with your own thoughts about them, but isn't that going against the saying don't judge a book by it's cover?

When it comes to looking at someones avatar, I personally don't see any need on making up thoughts based on a picture they're using. Sure it could possibly tell you what artist they like, if they enjoy anime or what not. But wouldn't the smartest thing to do to gather thoughts about who/how that person is by just simply reading the type of posts they make around the forums? Perhaps they might not even have any posts but only an avatar, but I see no need on trying to gather thoughts about someone over a picture so I would prefer to just wait and let them post when they are ready which will help me gather my thoughts on that person.

Some people using websites/forums may just select a total random picture to use as an avatar or even use a default one the website already has for members to select. A few years ago when I used to be a member on a couple of MyBB forums I always used that default avatar of the tin of spam with arms and legs or something like that. Sadly, if people decided to try gather thoughts on that avatar it could come across that I was only there to spam the forums.

So my opinion on this is that's it's a lot easier to gather an opinion on someone based on the kind of posts they create and not the avatar they use. 🙂

 

[Migi]

I've never actually really put any thought into what avatars say about people. When thinking about it now, I really can't decide if it says anything about them or not. I mean sure, you could come up with your own thoughts about them, but isn't that going against the saying don't judge a book by it's cover?

When it comes to looking at someones avatar, I personally don't see any need on making up thoughts based on a picture they're using. Sure it could possibly tell you what artist they like, if they enjoy anime or what not. But wouldn't the smartest thing to do to gather thoughts about who/how that person is by just simply reading the type of posts they make around the forums? Perhaps they might not even have any posts but only an avatar, but I see no need on trying to gather thoughts about someone over a picture so I would prefer to just wait and let them post when they are ready which will help me gather my thoughts on that person.

Some people using websites/forums may just select a total random picture to use as an avatar or even use a default one the website already has for members to select. A few years ago when I used to be a member on a couple of MyBB forums I always used that default avatar of the tin of spam with arms and legs or something like that. Sadly, if people decided to try gather thoughts on that avatar it could come across that I was only there to spam the forums.

So my opinion on this is that's it's a lot easier to gather an opinion on someone based on the kind of posts they create and not the avatar they use. 🙂

Accurate description. However, at the same time, it is impossible not to judge a book by its cover, at least partially. A cover helps to create first impression; it needs to spark readers' interest and invites them to buy and read more. Of course it does not come off so strongly in regards to avatar. But you can get some kind of imagination about people based on their avatar. For example, if someone puts an avatar of a smiling face, I will imagine him to be someone who is easier to reach and talk to compared to someone who puts an avatar of scary or mad face.

Other than that, avatar can also tell what someone is interested at, and such information can be entrance to conversations. More can branch out from there.

 

[Wiz.]

Accurate description. However, at the same time, it is impossible not to judge a book by its cover, at least partially. A cover helps to create first impression; it needs to spark readers' interest and invites them to buy and read more. Of course it does not come off so strongly in regards to avatar. But you can get some kind of imagination about people based on their avatar. For example, if someone puts an avatar of a smiling face, I will imagine him to be someone who is easier to reach and talk to compared to someone who puts an avatar of scary or mad face.

Other than that, avatar can also tell what someone is interested at, and such information can be entrance to conversations. More can branch out from there.

Oh, I have no doubt that's impossible to not judge a book by it's cover. But it really depends on how deeply you think into that saying. There's "judging" something by a tiny amount when in reality, means not so much and then there's the "judging" something which has more importance and could be used more accurately not get thoughts about it.

For me, if someone had a smiley avatar and an angry avatar, looking at either of them wouldn't make me feel anything about wanting or not wanting to read the post they made, or anything towards them really. Perhaps they just enjoyed the detail on that face or something. I would be more the person to judge by the topic title, the topic title is something which either draws me into reading or pushes me away to someones else's topic.

But yes, I also agree on the point that an avatar could lead into a conversation which could lead from internet friendships etc. But I would never judge a person personally or how they post by an avatar, I would only gather my thoughts on the actual person by reading the actual posts they create.

 

[CyberDemon]

Mine says I'm a Cyber Demon

 

[Garfield0003]

Mine says I am a Lurker.

 

[dvatoxic]

Hmm interesting, I have thought about that too. Someone should carry out a study.

 

[htb24]

My avatar says that I am a classy individual.

 

[MasterA]

So, I've been thinking about this lately, and will probably evenly write a blog post: what does someone's avatar say about them on a forum? Does someone's avatar effect how you interpret the posts they make?

For example, if someone's avatar is of a grinning pirate, is it more likely for you to think that person is a troll than if that person's avatar is of a kitten? If someone's avatar is smiling, do they come off generally as being nicer people than if their avatar looks mean, evil, etc? Could it even be that people subconsciously post nicer things when they have a nicer looking avatar?

Or maybe I'm looking into this too much, and people just choose avatars which reflect their personality.

What do you think? Have you noticed this?

I don't think this is necessarily the case. I think mot people choose avatars based on things they like. ie, I like Zatch Bell so that is my avatar.

 

[MrDawn]

I don't think you can make an educated guess based on someone's avatar.

 

[Allenafaith]

I don't think you can make an educated guess based on someone's avatar.

I agree, I've never been able to do that.

 

[ddoesmc]

I don't think you can make an educated guess based on someone's avatar.

Yeah, I totally agree! Someone that I thought was a male because of their profile picture but turned out to be a female. Sometimes, they are the person and sometimes they aren't.

 

[Cosmic]

I don't think you can make an educated guess based on someone's avatar.

If someone uses this avatar:

And someone else uses this avatar:

Then I think both people would be treated differently, and probably for good reason. 😛 While an avatar is not a good indicator of gender, it does indicate some things about a person.

 

[Sharon]

What impression do you get from my avatar?

I chose mine because I thought that it's soooo cute! lol

 

[MrDawn]

If someone uses this avatar:

And someone else uses this avatar:

Then I think both people would be treated differently, and probably for good reason. 😛 While an avatar is not a good indicator of gender, it does indicate some things about a person.

Oh...that whole Anonymous thing? Good point.

 

[Page]

Mr boneheaded guy. 2/100 of my own gathered farts