Nem x Mila gave a lecture at VR Club at the Univ. of Illinois in the US! Discussion on the differences in avatar culture among countries
The research unit “Nem x Mila,” formed by VTuber/author Virtual Girl Nem and Swiss anthropologist Mila (Ludmila Bredikhina), conducted an online lecture on February 24, 2024 (Japan Time) at the academic forum of VR Club at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the prestigious state university in the United States. The lecture, titled “LIVING AS VIRTUAL CHARACTERS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ACADEMIA AND METAVERSE NATIVES,” included a demonstration of life in the metaverse and introduced a large-scale survey analying 2,000 metaverse users worldwide, known as the “Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023.” The discussions mainly revolved around the differences in avatar culture among VR communities in various countries. Aiming to spark international discussions on VR avatar culture, the lecture archive was made freely available on the VR Club’s YouTube channel.
*This is translated version of this article : Nem x Mila、米国・イリノイ大学VRクラブで講演！ 各国のアバター文化の違いについてディスカッション
NEM x MILA x VR CLUB AT UIUC “LIVING AS VIRTUAL CHARACTERS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ACADEMIA AND METAVERSE NATIVES”
The lecture and discussion by Nem x Mila were arranged following the interest shown by the University of Illinois VR Club in the “Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023.”
- Title: NEM x MILA x VR CLUB AT UIUC “LIVING AS VIRTUAL CHARACTERS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ACADEMIA AND METAVERSE NATIVES”
- Talk by: Virtual Girl Nem, Ludmila Bredikhina
- Arranged by VR CLUB AT UIUC (the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
- Time: 2024 Feb 24th 07:00–08:00 (JST)
- Agenda: (1) Ademonstration of life in the metaverse, (2) Introduction of “Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023,” (3) Introduction of Mila’s “Ba-bi-niku” study, (4) Discussion, (5) Meet up at VRChat
*Source: NEM x MILA x VR CLUB AT UIUC “LIVING AS VIRTUAL CHARACTERS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ACADEMIA AND METAVERSE NATIVES” https://fb.me/e/6AwYBlC04
Regarding the differences in avatar culture among VR communities in various countries
Discussions were held based on personal experiences and data from the Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023, focusing on Japan (Nem), Europe (Mila), and the United States (members of the University of Illinois VR Club).
Regardless of region, female avatars are popular (63–75%). However, in America, gender-neutral avatars also hold a significant share (15%).
Concerning the types of avatars, Japan shows a slightly stronger preference for “human-type” avatars, such as beautiful girl avatars (46%), compared to other regions. In the United States, there’s a slightly stronger tendency to prefer “subhuman-type” avatars, including those with animal-like fantasy elements (51%).
The lecture archive is currently available for viewing.
Aiming to spark international discussions on VR avatar culture, the lecture archive has been made freely available on the University of Illinois VR Club’s YouTube channel.
VRChat Meet-up
After the lecture, a networking session was held in VRChat, where various discussions continued. For Nem x Mila, it was a unique opportunity to engage with the American VR community.
Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023
To visualize the lifestyle in the metaverse, a large-scale public survey report analyzing the responses of 2,000 users worldwide has been published. Aimed at fostering open discussions about the future of humanity and the metaverse, the report is freely available in both Japanese and English, spanning 80 pages. It provides a detailed analysis of cultural and behavioral differences across various regions of the world.
Research Unit “Nem x Mila”
“Nem x Mila” is a research unit formed by Virtual Girl Nem and Mila (Ludmila Bredikhina) to investigate the impact of VTubers and the metaverse on humanity.
※Interview video by TBWA Worldwide
Virtual Beauty Girl Nem
A metaverse native and evangelist for metaverse culture, Nem has been active as a beautiful girl idol since 2017 under the theme “Become the person you want to be in virtual reality,” claiming to be the world’s oldest individual VTuber. She won the “Grand Prize” in the business book category of the “IT Engineer Book Awards 2023” for her book “Metaverse Evolution Theory” (2022, Gijutsu-Hyohron Co., Ltd.) and spoke at the United Nations’ international conference “IGF Kyoto 2023”. Nem was also selected as “This Year’s Most Brilliant VTuber” at the MoguLive VTuber Award 2023.
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/nemchan_nel
- researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/nemchan_nel
Ludmila Bredikhina (Mila)
Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Malta. Through ethnography, she researches men’s “kawaii” and virtual gender expressions. In 2021, she won the University of Geneva’s academic award in the gender category, “Prix Genre,” for her master’s thesis on Babiniku and traditional Japanese theatre. Her translated summary “Babiniku — What Lies Behind Virtual Performance. Contesting Gender Norms through Technology and Japanese Theatre” was published in “Contemporary Thought”.
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BredikhinaL
- University of Malta: https://malta.academia.edu/LiudmilaBredikhina
Media Publications
P2y.EN
