"Second Life", was launched in 2003 as a game that literally represents a second cyber- life for people, not only can you purchase property but you can actually make a great virtual living, there have been people who have made their first million playing the game. While I think the idea is cool I can't help but think of the detriments caused by providing a virtual environment that reflects real life.
I personally feel like Second Life promotes social ineptness as people who lack social skills may be more inclined to live out their lives through their virtual selves as oppose to making any effort to socialize in the real world. While I agree that Second Life allows people who cannot typically interact with people to live a life that they otherwise could not, I still feel like it is available as a scape-goat for people who are too scared to socially interact in the real world.
One of the main problems with Second Life taking over as the first life for so many people is the lack of accountability for their virtual avatars. People may be more encouraged to partake in dissident behaviour as their is no way of truly ruining their reputations. It's true that some people take their second life as seriously as their first but for those testing the waters, they may be more inclined to stir up some trouble, something they can get away with without ever being strongly disciplined. People playing second life are empowered with a false sense of confidence as they can be whomever they choose to be without ever being caught.
Second Life is such a perplexing revolution as it is a true representation of life through technology, as our society continues to breed a dependency on technology we find ourselves becoming more and more isolated from one another and more inclined to interact through technological communicative tools; Second Life is evidence of where technology is leading us, into a world that no longer requires human contact.
I opened a Second Life account a couple of years ago to see what all the hype was about, but I was not hooked or long, as I do not play computer games. I think it is a really neat idea to be able to deal with real money, and to communicate with so many other players around the world. For the people who play Second Life and replace it with social contact, they are obviously taking it to the extreme. I do not think it is Second Life that is the problem, I believe these people would use other games, or hobbies to devote most of their time towards. I think the reason why Second Life is so popular, is because there are so many possibilities and options to choose from. In a sense, I think spending too much time on Second Life is the same as spending too much time on Facebook, MSN, dating sites, etc. These are all just places where people interact with each other, therefore Second Life is no different. I do not think we will ever live in a world that no long requires human contact, as not enough people are hooked on computer games or online networks.
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