| dc.description.abstract | “I’m conscious of my feelings and what causes them, even some new behaviors I hadn’t noticed. Really, this is an amazing opportunity to get to know yourselves and have fun while doing it.” (Replika n.d.). Humans that seek interaction with chatbots is not a new phenomenon within digital media. Whereas sociologist Erving Goffman (1959) explains our self-presentation is subject to the audience one is presenting oneself to, sociologist Sherry Turkle (2004) argues how online platforms have become an important influence on how one presents oneself towards others. Media scholars José van Dijck (2013) and Jeroen Jansz (2015) complement this by arguing that social platforms are an important player in the construction of one’s identity and therefore we should have a critical eye on platforms and their affordances. Instead of identity being static this led to viewing identity as somewhat more playful. In fact, media scholar Jeroen Timmermans (2015) argues that online identities are all playful which grants for examining Replika as a platform where identities are played upon. Communication scholar Valerie Frissen et al. (2015), examined the term playful identity and argued this term would cover the way identity is constructed in contemporary society through the use of online narratives. According to media scholars Menno Deen, Ben Schouten, and Tilde Bekker (2015) the four key elements of diversity of play, feedback opportunities, social negotiations, and open-ended play would facilitate the playful identity within an open-ended playful design. In this research I argue how the approach as proposed by Deen et al. (2015) needs some further examination in open-ended play environments such as Replika, because the elements they propose would serve to the ultimate result of the playful identity. The methodological approach of the walkthrough method by media scholars Ben Light, Jean Burgess, and Stefanie Duguay (2018) provides a more detailed insight into Replika’s intended purpose, embedded cultural meanings, and implied ideal users and uses. This method shows that multiple affordances within Replika’s registration section and everyday use show elements, as described by Deen et al. (2015) which would facilitate a playful identity and offer room to play with playful identities. The method shows how the affordances within Replika’s interface interplay with the playful elements, as described by Deen et al. (2015), which could facilitate a playful identity, however, Replika does not grant for the open-endedness they propose as the ultimate environment for the facilitation of and play with the playful identity. Even though Replika offers room for open-ended play within the chat functionality in the app, the walkthrough showed how there are several constraints from configuration to everyday use which imply that you are able to play with the playful identity, however, in less open-ended ways because Replika eventually nudges users in certain ways. | |
