DIGITAL HUMANS
Critical media studies
Computer graphics
Media arts
Narrative
Human-Ai
This research and creative project explores the role of virtual avatars within the context of social media, positioning them as agents capable of generating affective bonds with users through interactive dynamics and narrative structures native to these platforms. Far from being mere fictional constructs, the avatar is approached here as a bridge between technology and the user—designed to investigate how credibility, emotional connection, and narrative are constructed in high-consumption platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Through the analysis of real user interactions—comments, emotional reactions conveyed through emojis, and participation in narrative dynamics—this study identifies meaningful patterns that reveal the potential of these avatars both as cultural products and as methodological tools for understanding the behaviors and sensibilities of contemporary digital audiences. The research proposes to conceive both the social platform and the avatar as components of an interactive narrative system, where the perception of verisimilitude is not anchored in human likeness, but rather in the capacity to foster shared experience. The findings of this project not only contribute to the design of more empathetic digital experiences, but also suggest an expanded role for virtual avatars as meaningful actors within the fields of design, art, digital humanities, and emerging media research.
TECHNOLOGY AND
ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE
Interactive arts
Augmented reality
Non-linear narrative
In recent years, I have had the opportunity to participate in several projects that combine Indigenous knowledge with technological implementations, aiming to adapt the oral traditions of these cultures to new media. For me, technology is not merely a tool for representation or a means of digitizing reality—it is a medium that enhances the narrative and conceptual dimensions of cultural objects by adding new layers of meaning through digital resources.
For instance, in certain Indigenous narratives, spatial experience is essential to performing specific healing rituals. It is the act of following the river’s course that guides the individual through their healing journey. By implementing virtual and augmented reality technologies, it becomes possible to abstract the spatial scale of these paths, reimagining them within a hybrid context—one that is not only physical and digital, but that also offers new interpretations of the journey itself and of the ancestral processes at the heart of these cultures.
