Vibrant Voices: An Understanding of Mutes in VRChat
How Nonverbal Communication Can Expand Our Minds and Relationships
There is a large number of people in VRChat who, for one reason or another, do not speak. These folks are referred to as mutes. Mutes have an array of reasons for not speaking in-game, including anxiety, disability, or gender dysphoria. Some people have been mute since they started playing years ago (before in-game text boxes), some have chosen to unmute (begin speaking), and some only speak around a few trusted friends. It is so common to be mute in VRChat that it would actually be odd to find a community that doesn't have a few mutes.
Some may find the concept of mutism in a game like VRChat to be strange or nonsensical. After all, it is a social platform, so why would someone log on just to not say anything to the people around them? Well, you don't always need to vocalize in order to be social. And for those of us who are used to meeting people on the Internet, we already know this! Personally, I think back to how many friends I've made where our first conversations were entirely text-based. Years ago, I had a best friend whom I pretty much exclusively talked with through Facebook Messenger. I have met my past two partners through the Internet and we built our relationships mostly through messages on Discord. You get the point. It's nothing new, if you think about it. Not to mention, Sign Language is another hugely widespread method of nonverbal communication, and of course there's a big Sign Language community in VRChat. If you want to learn more about that, here’s a video by the Virtual Reality Show about Helping Hands, a VRChat community that helps users learn Sign Language!
I truly think that sometimes using a different medium of communication can help open your mind to other worldviews and experiences.
I truly think that sometimes using a different medium of communication can help open your mind to other worldviews and experiences. It's sort of similar to learning another language. You have to consciously question and change what you've always known about communicating with others, and then find the most effective way to get the message across. It's not always easy, but it does feel rewarding in the end, because now you've extended your reach and can get to know a few more cool people. And those people might just introduce you to even more worldviews.
Anywho! For this article, I interviewed two folks who have experience being mute in VRChat — Maxirin, currently mute, and The Gun God, ex-mute.
MAXIRIN
How long have you been mute?
I have been mute since I started playing VRChat (2017).
If you feel comfortable sharing, is there a reason you're mute?
I have a lot of social anxiety which makes it hard for me to communicate with my voice; I freeze up and can't form words properly.
What are some aspects of being mute that you like? Any aspects that you don't like?
I like that I can still express myself in other ways, and that I don't freeze up as much. I can communicate a bit better. One aspect I don't like is that it's a bit harder to get people's attention sometimes when you need to say something, or text boxes sometimes go unnoticed.
How are you generally treated as a mute? Do you ever feel like people project their perceptions onto you?
Generally most people treat me like they would treat anyone else. I have run into some bad apples who would pick on mutes to get a reaction in public worlds, but I've found most people treat me like any other human. From the people I have met and been around, I haven't felt like anyone has projected any perceptions onto me.
Do you feel that a platform like VRChat allows for better communication?
Yes. I've found platforms like VRChat are great places for me to communicate with others and make connections. There are many options to express and communicate, like ASL and text boxes on VRC. It makes it a lot easier for me to communicate with my anxiety.
THE GUN GOD
How long were you mute?
I was mute for about half a year, I would say. I talked a little before meeting my friend group, but was mute only for a short time after finding them.
If you feel comfortable sharing, was there a reason you were mute?
Best way I could put it is, at the time, I found that the best way to make an impression on others was to not talk at all, to prevent myself from saying something idiotic. I worried a lot about the way others viewed me, so I figured if I didn't talk at all, I would be seen as less of an annoyance. Needed friends at the time, so I wanted to make the best impression possible.
What influenced your decision to unmute?
Seeing an old friend who was around before I was mute. They joined on me one day and I thought to myself, "Why am I afraid of talking to these people who are basically a family to me?" Before they joined on me that one night, I never really thought of a time where I would speak, so it was very much a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing.
How were you generally treated as a mute? Did you feel like people projected their perceptions onto you?
I can happily say I was treated very kindly as a mute and actually had very few moments where communication was hard. I felt like people were able to easily read my body language and mood without me even saying a word, which, looking back, surprises me how little issues there were.
Do you feel that a platform like VRChat allows for better communication?
Personally, I think VRChat is a great platform for better and different forms of communication. From additions to things like textboxes or people using pens on their avatar, to people like me from back then and even now using body language to construe whatever it is they may want to say. It has come a long way and it's still great to see other methods of communication come up from time to time. A side note, I feel VRChat has helped my social skills in reading body language and better communicating with others without saying a word, both in VRChat and in the real world.
I was originally going to write about the various reasons why folks may be mute in VRChat, but thinking about it now, I don't really find that to be one of the more important points on this topic. Mutism is just kind of something that's accepted in VRChat, and I think that's for the better. I don't believe I've ever asked someone's reasoning for being mute — other than in the interview questions, but even then I feared I was being too invasive! — and I don't really need to know. I'd much rather just chat with my mute friends like normal and make sure they feel welcomed. I also personally find it fascinating and amazing that we live in an age where we have so many options for communication, which allows for wider accessibility, which in turn allows us to meet even more awesome people! And that, my fwends, is what a "social platform" is really for. The fact that someone can be silent and yet still vibrantly express themselves on their own terms... *chef's kiss*
Until text boxes were added, my experience with VRChat was difficult.. lol. You'd just hope to find the in-world pens, if there were any. It's disheartening when a social game makes such a significant accessibility feature an afterthought.