"SL is a place of fantasy and wish fulfillment. It’s a place where we are free from the constraints placed upon us by the real world. Not only can we choose how we look, but we can choose roles to which we have no access in our real lives."
For some of us , role play will make everything true they wished for, for others it is only a search for themselves, to find out their real "me".
In the comments of this article, Wolf Hartnell (also read his blogpost!) wrote an interesting view on this topic, which I believe, is a pretty good definition:
"Life is (among other things) an ongoing journey in self exploration. The trouble is that we are so emotionally invested in causality. We see our present selves as being determined by our past decisions, and so we hold onto that past far more than we should. Second Life offers a tantalising opportunity that few allow themselves in RL - a new beginning, a chance to be another “me”, or even many different “me”s. For those who are most “settled” in their RL selves the differences are often subtle and SL merely a wonderful way to meet new people. For those who wonder, not necessarily unhappily, what might have been, or who else they could be, SL offers the chance to try and find out.
Most psychologists agree that fantasy is often a healthy way to explore ourselves, provided that we retain a sense of core identity throughout and are ready to learn and grow from the experience. It’s a dangerous path though, because what happens if we find out that we (and others) prefer some other version of “me”. The strong will take that and change their lives. The others? Well we have probably all met one or two of those in SL - perhaps its truest “residents”, lost to RL but for food and sleep. And what do they do when their SL fantasy turns out not to be what they wanted either?"
It is a dangerous thing, Second Life, as you can read in this article and in the comments of this article. You must be very strong to keep both worlds completely separate. For me it will keep being interesting to meet new people and still learning different things, which I was never able to do, before I logged into this virtual world. But to be honest, it is a difficult, dangerous world, where, every day, if you are not careful, can encounter situations, which you did not want to happen, because of misinterpretations and wrong communications, and makes your second life a nightmare instead of a wonderful fantasy world.
7 comments:
This is absolutely one of my major subjects, hehehe. Where you draw the line bettween both SL and RL. And when, how, why you keep moving it from one side and the other, lol. Above all, for me is no doubt a privileged way to keep in touch with all those "selfs" inside of me. Guess that's why I became a neko, cuz it's the best way to deal both with humanity and... animality (? lol)
That could be indeed a help, for having both RL and SL seperated easier. But when I came on the grid, I started normal, and I haven't changed it since then.
Looker, I also started out trying to make my avie a representation of the RL me. In many ways, I was preventing myself from enjoying all the platform had to offer because of this. I'm not sure *exactly* when the change occurred (it may have been when I started experimenting with being a neko), but once it started, it seemed like whatever resistance I had gave way, which really opened up SL to me. At that point, I found a lot of freedom in SL that I don't have in RL.
By the way, it's weird to see myself quoted on another blog :) I'm glad you included what Wolf said, too. There were really some thoughtful responses to that post :)
Well, perhaps I should think about becoming a neko myself too. I have written about it before, thinking about it before, why not give it a try?
Perhaps, the next time we meet, Chloe, I am a neko too, ;))
Looker, great post!
RL...SL....RL....SL....so confusing.
I put on my profile that 1) I do not want an SL reltationship, and 2) I do not mix RL with SL.
Currently I am partnered and that line between RL and SL is blurry.
What I have learned from this is...I do not need to control things and try to put them in a nice little box. I can open myself up to the experience and relax and enjoy. I forget that sometimes. And because SL is so free-floating, my need to control that which I can't becomes pretty strong.
Love the last paragraph..especially what you said here:
Well we have probably all met one or two of those in SL - perhaps its truest “residents”, lost to RL but for food and sleep. And what do they do when their SL fantasy turns out not to be what they wanted either?"It is a dangerous thing,
Yes it is. And it's where I want to live...on the edge. But it isn't healthy for me and my addictive personality.
So glad you're here, Looker!
Well written analysis...I have struggled with where to draw the line for RL/SL separation even in just the short time I have been in SL.
My goal is to have the SL enhance the things I do in RL....not take me away from my good RL. But, damn it anyway, there are real, amazing, magnetic people behind the avs. Humanity seeps in, like water, and makes things muddy.
Well thank you Joonie, nice to see you are still there, and yes,tymmerie, I think we are continuously walking on the edge as it is sometimes difficult to draw the line, but I can tell you this, it is an amazing world, where there are so much possibilities to learn things, that I would never have learned if I had not been on SL.
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