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Using social representation theory, in-depth interviews reveal the opportunities and challenges arising from interactions between virtual experiences and real-world development. Findings support strategies to improve SVW sustainability despite uncertainty.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/adolescent-female-users-avatar-creation-in-social-virtual-worlds-opportunities-and-challenges/155372/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/adolescent-female-users-avatar-creation-in-social-virtual-worlds-opportunities-and-challenges/155372.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Melati","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-08-28",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",15,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the main focus of the study on adolescent girls and avatars?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study investigates how adolescent female users create avatars in social virtual worlds, specifically Zepeto, and what perceptions and motivations drive their avatar creation.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which theoretical framework guides the research?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The research uses social representation theory (SRT) to analyze how users interpret and engage with avatar creation in SVWs.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What opportunities and challenges does the study emphasize?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The study highlights opportunities for virtual identity construction and self-presentation experimentation, while also addressing uncertainty and challenges related to how virtual and real worlds interact.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},155372,1787910718,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962085570644,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","behavioral sciences  \nArticle  \nAdolescent Female Users’ Avatar Creation in Social Virtual Worlds: Opportunities and Challenges  \nChaeeun Ko  and Seongcheol Kim *  \nCitation: Ko, C.; Kim, S. Adolescent Female Users’ Avatar Creation in Social Virtual Worlds: Opportunities and Challenges. Behav. Sci. 2024, 14, 539 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14070539](https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14070539)  \nAcademic Editor: Xiaochun Xie  \nReceived: 3 May 2024  \nRevised: 13 June 2024  \nAccepted: 25 June 2024  \nPublished: 26 June 2024  \nCopyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) .  \nSchool of Media and Communication, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea; [chd1237@korea.ac.kr](chd1237@korea.ac.kr)  \n* [Correspondence: hiddentrees@korea.ac.kr](Correspondence: hiddentrees@korea.ac.kr)  \nAbstract: Many adolescent females are active online, finding creative ways to express themselves through evolving social media technologies. Social virtual worlds (SVWs), distinguished by extensive avatar customization features, provide them with unique opportunities to craft virtual identities and explore diverse facets of self-presentation. This study investigates adolescent females’ construction of avatars in Zepeto, a South Korea-based global SVW platform. Employing social representation theory (SRT) as a theoretical framework, this study conducted in-depth interviews with adolescent female Zepeto users to uncover their perceptions of and motivations behind avatar creation in SVWs, as well as to explore how the interplay of virtual and real worlds presents them with various opportunities and challenges. While the prospects of SVWs remain uncertain, examining how these young users interpret and experience SVWs contributes to identifying potential strategies to enhance the sustainability of these platforms.  \nKeywords: social virtual world; social representation theory; avatar; adolescent; identity  \n1. Introduction  \nWith the shift in a large part of contemporary interpersonal communication to the digital space, online spaces have become a major socializing venue for adolescents [1,2], enough to be referred to as a second reality. For adolescents, who are undergoing an intensive identity formation yet have limited resources in reality, social media provides a platform to express themselves and interact with others in a way that transcends physical boundaries [3,4] . Particularly noteworthy is the active presence of adolescent females in online spaces. They dedicate more time to engaging in social media activities than their male counterparts, investing considerable effort into creating appealing online selfpresentations [5,6] . In the USA, a higher percentage of females (48%) aged 13–17 reported being online almost constantly in their lives compared to males (43%) [7] . Similarly, in South Korea, girls spend an average of 217 min per day on mobile internet, exceeding boys’usage by 37 min [8], which suggests that their online experiences constitute a considerable part of their lives.  \nSocial virtual worlds (SVWs) provide adolescents with novel opportunities for selfrepresentation via sophisticated avatars. With extensive customization features, users can create their avatars as desired, shaping them to closely resemble or diverge entirely from their actual selves. This capacity for creative self-reinvention sets SVWs apart from the more reality-bound representations common in social networking services (SNSs) . While engaging with avatars in this immersive environment, adolescent users can experiment with their self-representation, form new relationships, and learn from their peers and other users. These experiences align with the developmental ta","cbCaieOLhEoDCbD6","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieOLhEoDCbD6","pdf",1277024,22,"English","# Introduction\n## Adolescent online presence and identity formation\n## Social virtual worlds and avatar-based self-representation\n## Research gap: adolescents and avatar creation practices","[{\"question\":\"What is the main focus of the study on adolescent girls and avatars?\",\"answer\":\"The study investigates how adolescent female users create avatars in social virtual worlds, specifically Zepeto, and what perceptions and motivations drive their avatar creation.\"},{\"question\":\"Which theoretical framework guides the research?\",\"answer\":\"The research uses social representation theory (SRT) to analyze how users interpret and engage with avatar creation in SVWs.\"},{\"question\":\"What opportunities and challenges does the study emphasize?\",\"answer\":\"The study highlights opportunities for virtual identity construction and self-presentation experimentation, while also addressing uncertainty and challenges related to how virtual and real worlds interact.\"}]","Adolescent Female Users’ Avatar Creation in Social Virtual Worlds - Opportunities and Challenges | PDF",55]