A Virtual Life, An Actual Death.

Originally posted by LiveForever8
Doesn't it say a lot about society when people feel most comfortable when under a blanket of anonymity.

I don't think people have changed. The only difference is that they now have an acceptable venue for expressing the desires that they have been trained to hold within.

This was one of the saddest stories that I have read in a long time. It is sad on so may levels that I can even begin to count them.

How many people are depressed, how many marriages destroyed and how many people will commit suicide due to our distorted views of what love is and what it is supposed to look and feel like?

The media has colored everything that we come into contact with and yet in the end the only color we will see as the curtain comes down is a fade to black.

reply to post by LiveForever8


So are you saying people don't need vacations and getaways? That people should face everything head on till they are fried and can't think straigtht anymore?

reply to post by nixie_nox


No, thats not what im saying at all.

Like i said, there are positives and negatives. But comparing Second Life to a vacation is not strictly accurate.

My worry is that future generations will become socially inept, choosing to live a virtual life over physical one. A vacation lasts a week or two, then its back to reality, hopefully more relaxed and capable after a couple of weeks rest.

To me it seems that Second Life doesn't have this distinctive separation.

We all have our escapes, and using Second Life in this way seems acceptable to me, i play video games, thats my escape.

But i can press a 'reset' button when im finished, whereas people in virtual reality remain there. Meaning the 'player' is still emotionally attatched to their avatar.

The distinctions between virtual and actual have become blurred and this can be dangerous.

It is a fascinating premise though. I have never played it, i would like to, in the hope of understanding it better.

reply to post by LiveForever8



Oh ok, I see what you mean now.

Your right. people do tend to get very involved. People also see their avatars as extentions of themselves.

But the people who tend to get too involved, as I have discovered, have very little of a first life. So second life becomes a replacement.

And you can usually tell those people pretty quickly. They are needy, become drama queens. And basically create an air of attention and drama around them. Attention that they don't receive in rl.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Yeah but the involvement also extends to the social environment. For example many games have guilds / clans that game with eachother and participate in scheduled events.

For example in WOW there are raid schedules for the different raid instances which revolve around the weekly raid resets. Plus there are smaller teams that do group player v player via arenas.

In a game like counterstrike for instance clans scrim and actually participate in league play. Kind of like a baseball or softball league there are frequent practices to prepare for these. Being a very tactical game these practices are very involved going over scrims (strategies executed with precision) in order to out S.W.A.T. the enemy.

It's not just extensions of yourself it is a another social life separate of your every day social life.

reply to post by LiveForever8


I wouldn't go as far to say people will choose a virtual world over the real one. I game. I play online games one of them is a MMO RPG. (massive multiplayer online role playing game). I still go to work in the real world every day, I still socialize with friends and family. I still go out and have a drink with friends. I still interact with my family at home. Yes I have a virtual life but that doesn't mean my real life is not fulfilling or nonexistent. I am actually quite happy with my real life.

[edit on 10-9-2009 by DaMod]