Appearance Matters, Even in VRChat

I recently tried out VRChat. It was enjoyable to converse with a variety of people.

While exploring various rooms as a chili pepper character (which was available for free), someone in one of the rooms mentioned, "You look very much like a beginner with that avatar, maybe consider changing it."

It seems preferable to use avatars that resemble human forms. While it might be fun to temporarily switch to humorous or niche avatars in the presence of close friends or after having lengthy conversations with someone, I realized it's generally better to remain as a humanoid character.

The early 2000s sentiment of "You can say or express anything on SNS or the internet, unlike in real life" is outdated. Now, I believe that in spaces like SNS, the internet, and VR, one should be even more cautious about their appearance and comments.

A careless avatar choice might signal the possibility of a troll, similar to how one's appearance in the real world can influence perceptions. Just as in reality where an oddly dressed person might be perceived as eccentric, the same goes for the virtual world.

I also joined a beginners' world tour where I was taught many operational features. Eagerly, I sent a friend request to one of the people leading the tour but wasn't accepted. Perhaps it's not appropriate to send friend requests to strangers immediately (although the chili pepper avatar might have played a role in this).

In any case, I'm considering either purchasing a humanoid avatar or trying to create one using Blender.

Here are the Worlds I visited:

• Olympia
• EN-JP Language Exchange