About the authorMy name is Phoenix Islar. I'm the Manager at Lightening Video Mall, one of the biggest movie stores in SL. I've been in SL for a long time and continue to explore my interests.
Virtual worlds are becoming more prominent in society. Whether they are used for fun, dating or even business, people are turning to worlds such as SecondLife where the possibilities are endless. Businesses and organizations have noticed this trend and many of them have chosen to take their business into Second Life where they are able to reach a broader demographic of customers, volunteers and supporters. However, in my years of participating in SecondLife I have noticed a powerful trend where people will go out of their way to make a clear distinction and separation between SecondLife and real life.
We create avatars that may or may not look like us, they may or may not have our same names, but are we not the ones who control these avatar’s actions? Do we not choose what we say to other avatars? Or how we behave? When conversing with other’s around us, do we not mention real life issues or maybe even personal ones? How easy is it really to separate your real life from your SecondLife?
The behavior that many people display within SecondLife is not behavior that they would display in the real life and it’s simply because they can get away with it. Because of this behavior people are getting hurt; it is being forgotten there is a human being behind the avatar.
It’s hard to say whether or not people are aware of this fact. The truth is that SecondLife can be very addictive and it is in fact an escape from one’s real life. I am guilty of being sucked in SecondLife, I am addicted but I am not ashamed of that. I do, however, behave the same way in SecondLife as I do in real life, but then again SecondLife is not my escape, it is an extension of my real life.
Which brings up the question, can people really separate their real life from their SecondLife? When you make a friend, are they your real friends or SecondLife friends? Do you add these new friends to your Facebook? Your Skype? Yahoo or Msn? If so, isn’t that mixing your real life with your SecondLife?
Here’s the truth or for some of you, the ugly truth. SecondLife and real life are one. In SecondLife, you live through an avatar which you created, and it behaves the way you make it. When someone falls in love, I don’t believe the feelings go away when you turn your computer off. Furthermore, I believe the friends one makes in SecondLife are in fact real friends, you have conversations with them, you go out, you have fun, just as you would in the real life.
And so the question remains, can you really separate your real life from your SecondLife?