A Comparative Analysis of Nonverbal Communication in Online Multi-User Virtual Environments

This paper examines how nonverbal communication in virtual environments have evolved since their early inception by examining landmark platforms to represent the different periods of advancement in the capabilities of their contemporaries. It examines how some forms of NVC are translated directly from face-to-face to a digital avatar, as well as novel forms of NVC that evolve from the platforms themselves. This article will analyze how these translated and novel forms of NVC can indicate broader trends in the ways that people communicate through digital avatars, and provides some recommendations for further research into this subject.