Virtual Pets as Self-Objects

article

Juhani Ihanus

Abstract

Digital pets introduced in the 1990s have returned, powered by AI. They have transformed into virtual pets through relive applications marketed as reviving childhood memories and eternalizing pets in virtual reality. Psychologically, such relational artifacts are evocative and transitional self-objects that create and maintain players’ attachment relationships, reinforcing unconscious fantasies of immortality against the fear of extinction.

Keywords:

artificial intelligence (AI), attachment, digital pets, extinction, fantasy, human-AI interaction, immortality, metaverse, mourning, robotic pets, self-object, unconscious fantasies, virtual anxiety, virtual pets

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About the author

Juhani Ihanus

Juhani Ihanus, PhD, is Associate Professor of Cultural Psychology at the University of Helsinki, and Associate Professor of the History of Science and Ideas at the University of Oulu. He is also an international member of the Psychohistory Forum who has published books and articles on psychohistory, cultural and clinical psychology, and the history of psychology. Dr. Ihanus may be reached at .

How to cite this article

Ihanus, J. (2025). Virtual pets as self-objects. Clio’s Psyche, 32(3), 310-315.

https://doi.org/10.70763/6c81c83c4bd0b58850495f603ab45a93