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January 13, 2005

Sims as therapy?

I just hit the paragraph below in the recent New York Times article entitled "The Secret Lives of Just About Everybody" by Benedict Carey. It is mainly about how adults today create and deal with their own identity/identities (or don't deal). I wasn't reading it for IM reasons at all when I came across this:

"One 16-year-old girl who lives with an abusive father has simulated her relationship to him in Sims Online by changing herself, variously, into a 16-year-old boy, a bigger, stronger girl and a more assertive personality, among other identities. It was as a more forceful daughter, Dr. Turkle said, that the girl discovered she could forgive her father, if not change him."

That strikes me as very interesting and ironic since I think of the Sims as a place where people often play out their fantasies as an escape from real life rather than a green room to rehearse situations as preparation for real life.

Posted by rosenblj at January 13, 2005 03:43 PM

Comments

inspriational. immersive psychotherapy, hmmm, great! after yesternight's seminar, i've been pondering over on it. cartoon graphic might works for a 16-year-old girl. does it likewise take effect for adults too?

Posted by: yuechuan [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 13, 2005 06:11 PM

inspriational. immersive psychotherapy, hmmm, great! after yesternight's seminar, i've been pondering over it. cartoon graphic might works for a 16-year-old girl. does it likewise take effect for adults?

Posted by: yuechuan [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 14, 2005 07:46 AM

Jessica,

Sorry to clutter your blog, but I'm not sure how else to get in touch with you. I don't know if you remember but we met briefly last year when I visited your class for a story I was working on here at Entertainment Weekly. I'll be back in LA next week working on, yes, that same exact story and I was wondering if you might be around and available for a follow-up interview. I'll be in town from the 24th to the 30th. If you can contact me via email beforehand, that would be great: neil_drumming@ew.com. If not, I can be reached in LA at 917.345.5567. And, of course, I may bump into you during one of your classes.

Thanks,

Neil

Posted by: ndrumming [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 19, 2005 10:38 AM

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