A research environment for digital identity development
Digital identity simulation is designed as a controlled digital environment for studying the ADID mechanism. It is not intended primarily as a game. Its purpose is to create situations in which users make meaningful choices and can observe how these choices influence their digital representation over time.
How digital identity simulation works
In digital identity simulation, the recurring process includes a target, an action or defined non-action, a change in the digital state, feedback, reflection and interpretation.
The user first encounters a situation or developmental target. A choice or behaviour follows. The system records this behaviour and updates the digital representation. Changes may be numerical, visual or functional. The environment can then provide additional feedback through events, characters or other users. Finally, the person reflects on what the change means.
Accept, revise or reject
The system does not decide who the person is. The user retains interpretive control. A person may accept a digital change as personally meaningful, revise its meaning, or reject the interpretation entirely. ADID is not intended to diagnose personality. It is designed to support observation and reflection on patterns of action.
Why use simulation?
Simulation allows researchers to observe behaviour under controlled conditions while maintaining a meaningful and interactive experience. It also makes it possible to study change across repeated interactions rather than relying only on questionnaires collected at a single moment.
See also Adaptive Digital Identity Development and development and results. For conceptual foundations, start with digital identity.