Influence of Avatars and Images: are you affected?

Well, obvious to most but not to some, and wishing I didn't have to be so literal, I am basically saying that very few things are black and white, unfortunately I seldom manage to get that conveyed in my posts so hope my avatar goes some way to assisting my points of view.

I have on occasion been inclined toward the blatantly political but found that when disagreeing with those I might normally agree with I garner little credit (stars) this I put down to what probably appeared to be a contradiction relative to my avatar, where I was merely trying to be objective.

I try to keep them relatively simple or minimalist and have to agree with a lot of people who have posted on this thread, I don't like animated avatars too much they are very distracting.

[edit on 21-10-2009 by Koka]

Originally posted by Doc Tesla
i was watching futurama as i was making my account. i didn't put too much thought in it. i just got one so its easier to find my replies in a thread.

i dont judge people based on their avatar. first i read there post and then i make a judgment. But i do think that an avatar is directly related to age.

political avatar lates- 30s to 40s
Cartoon or anime- teens to 20s
picture of band or movie- 20s
self image-20s-30s
space or anything abstract- late teens to late 20s

i have yet to test my theory so at this point its just my opinion

you were spot on with the teens to 20 cartoon pic avs kid.
just looked at your profile.

Mine has a duality of meaning - on a national and personal level.

Plus Terry Butcher is a legend.

Originally posted by GypsK
reply to post by nerbot

 

Now that's a creepy creepy creepy avi!!!!
it gives me the chills!

Glad to be of service.

Mine is one of my drawings, so what does that say about me?

I like picking the hidden symbolism out of avatars.

My signature was the other way around, i'll change it back when it is more fitting.

[edit on 21/10/09 by locster]

I picked a photo I had taken of a pair of two year old Brown Bears in a stream play fighting and cropped one out. No thought went in to it though. Makes it easier to find my posts while scrolling.

Before that I had a crop of a picture of a Bald Eagle flying my Wife took. I used it because it had meaning. That same Bald Eagle flew up to me and landed about five feet in front of me and we talked for a bit. He kept picking up sticks off the shoreline and throwing them in the air like a dog that wants to play fetch. Walked up to a foot in front of me and stared me in the eye. Threw another stick in the air and took off. Sometimes Ravens fly up to me the same way. I don't know why. I have one that comes back and hangs out near my office every winter for the last four winters. He does various bird calls. I knew Ravens could imitate bird calls but never heard one do it before.

Before that it was a crop from a photo I took of a Giraffe sticking its tongue out.

Had a really great animated gif I made of the moon reflecting in the water but it was too large a file and had to take it down.

Bear / Bald Eagle / Giraffe / Moon; is there correlation? Do I need psychiatric help? Is there a cosmic meaning in it all?

Interesting thread

reply to post by manxman2


You guys are going to get the thread pulled. Knock it off.

reply to post by thunderabove


Why are you breaking the T&C and trying to get somebody elses thread pulled. Like I said, knock it off.

Originally posted by Signals
It ain't pretty but it is a self portrait. It's true, I am an Alien Demon. Remember, step 1 is to make sure you don't believe I exist.

Sorry, I don't have a lot of time to respond [at this moment] but just thought I'd drop a quick post for a request to please jump back on topic, it would be a bummer to get it pulled.

A refresher; in case the message got lost in the pages...
______________________

Images (in general) are all meant to convey a message... There's intent behind the images. I'm interested in whether that intent is noticed, internalized, acted upon...

Are we 'aware' of this? Are we reacting to the message that's being conveyed in that image and how influential is it to us as well as to the user?



[edit on 21-10-2009 by LadySkadi]

Mine is illiminati based

why ?

who knows..

maybe i have been "made to" by watching others do the same ?

reply to post by LadySkadi


Yes, peoples avatars do have some influence on how I view them. I'd think a person should be careful about that though. An avatar could just be a cool image that they like which has no meaning at all in regards to what they are like.

In my case a bear is misleading as I'm more of Teddy Bear than a vicious killer like a Brown Bear in Alaska. It is simply a crop from a photo I took. No meaning was intended.

For some I'm sure they put a lot of thought in and it does have significance.

reply to post by AccessDenied


If you really look this way, I think I'm in love.

I chose mine because I too am an alien overlord with a sense of humor.

End Communication.

I picked my avatar out because I was a fan of the old Sandman Mystery Theater comics and besides it looked cool to me.

Originally posted by LadySkadi

Images (in general) are all meant to convey a message... There's intent behind the images. I'm interested in whether that intent is noticed, internalized, acted upon...

Are we 'aware' of this? Are we reacting to the message that's being conveyed in that image and how influential is it to us as well as to the user?

if you mean internalized as 'To take in and make an integral part of one's attitudes or beliefs'

then I would say no. no ones picture has made me change my beliefs.

I hardly remember names, but I ALWAYS remember pictures. there are certian members of whom I hardly ever read their posts, because of a myriad of reasons, usually stemming from that person being a complete idiot.

--->
see the picture, mental note that that person is on my do not read list, continue reading.

sometimes even If I cant agree with one thing the poster has ever said, I might still enjoy their picture. it is 100% dependent on the content of the picture itself.

there are other posts similar to this one, some of those go in and start off by saying that they are afraid of this site because some people use scary and evil pictures. One could easily say they are embracing the scary pictures to draw crucial attention to an important subject.

I used to use a picture of an albatross on a beach surrounded by a seemingly endless field of beer cans and plastic trash strewn about.

some people called him "party bird". I called it a travesty because that bird is a victim to humanities pollution problem.

We must remember that all images are just that; just pictures. you have the content of the picture, then you have an implied meaning, some concept in your mind that pops up when you look at your picture. sad to say, its really hard to convey that same feeling in your mind to someone else when they look at the picture.

because of the way we think, two people looking at the same thing will almost always come to two different conclusions from the same picture.

The current avatar to my left is a custom made depiction of that which I sometimes see at night, but never manage to capture on film. I'm certain it's most likely a military or police related infra-red light, however whenever I see it, it makes no sound as it glides through the clouds. My avatar reflects fear of the unkown and the possibilities of advancement for the human race.


[edit on 21-10-2009 by freeradical]