Second Life
Imagine a world that you live in, that was created by the click of a mouse! Imagine everything you can do in reality, can be done with a virtual avatar. While all of this seems crazy, yet cool, the designers of Second Life have made the impossible, possible.
Second Life has a wide range of users. Originally, users certified as legal adults were the only users allowed on the network. Second Life has opened the gate for other users to enjoy the virtual world by creating Teen Second Life, while keeping the original virtual world with Adult Only Second Life. The difference between the two worlds is, Teen Second Life allows users of the ages 13 to18 to enjoy, while Adult Only Second Life specifies users of 18 and older. A virtual world would not be much of a virtual world without characters.
It is up to the user to create their character in the Second Life world. The “avatars” that are created, are the virtual living beings that conduct all the activities the user can imagine. From shopping at a store for clothes to attending a class, or even a job interview, the opportunities are endless. While the virtual life may seem free, Second Life requires monthly payments of its users to use the social network, and in order to buy items within Second Life, the exchange rate for American dollars to Linden dollars is 1 to 266. While exploring this social network, focusing on the original users is where most of the social interactions occur.
Original users of Second Life range from a high school graduate, to a grandmother baking cookies at home while enjoying retirement. Anybody and everybody can be a user, or resident on Second Life. The community is constantly growing, and with new inventions being created by the residents of Second Life, the end of the virtual world is far from sight. Although Second Life has created a new culture on the internet, cultures from other social networks seem to find their way into the virtual world. Fakes, con artist, whatever the name may be, the authenticity of the characters on Second Life is left to the imagination of its’ users. Similar incidents have occurred on YouTube. Dr. Wesch, in his studies referred to the case of the two Emo kids that end up falling in love. While the story between the two seemed to be real, later the relationship was revealed as a fictional story, created by both actors. Whether it be in the name of fun, or just for the excitement of being someone you are not, faking identities is becoming a culture within all social networks. Another question that arises from many social sites such as Second Life and YouTube, is what is the purpose of the site?
When thinking about the world of Second Life every transaction between residents occur in every day real life. The question that arises is, what is the point in play real life while living real life? Burgess, Jean & Green, Joshua, studied some of the same questions with users of YouTube. Within their study people responded by saying they were able to view old video’s from the past. It allowed them to revisit a place in time that they once lived and enjoyed. Are these social sites becoming a relief of the lives we live today? The answer may not be a blunt yes or no, but the patterns of people and their behavior on these sites would lean towards yes.
Unlike YouTube, Second Life allows the interactions between residents to happen through their virtual characters. Lives lived through animation and the imagination of its users. To some, Second Life maybe a tool for business transactions, while others may use it for dating. Second Life has taken the capabilities of other social networks and placed them within its own. The freedom of life is now given through the internet. Why go in for work when you can do it from your computer screen? Or why go on a date when your avatar can meet you dates avatar online? While the impossible has become possible we begin to live lives that are not our own. We begin to life through characters that are created in our imagination while continuing our own lives. Life is no longer life when we control all that we can do, while in reality life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get. http://www.appstate.edu/~stanovskydj/internet.html#two
