Second Life

Sunshine Therapy Garden, Second Life
[RL = real life, SL = second life]

In the past few weeks I have been exploring something known as "Second Life". It is certainly an interesting new world... However, there has been much debate about Second Life - at all sorts of levels.

First, a brief description: (or look it up on Wikipedia). Second Life is an online world where you exist as an "avatar". This avatar can be dressed up and made to look however you wish. So if you want muscles, you can have them. If you want pretty clothes, no problems. If you wish to look like Barbie, you can (although I'm not sure why you'd bother).

Taking this a step further, then. Once you look how you want to look, you can also do whatever you want to do. Second Life is limited only by your imagination. Perhaps you can begin to see what the problems might be? In fact, some people begin to live their Second Life at a great cost to their real life (known as RL in Second Life jargon).

The next complication in Second Life is money - surprise, surprise. You buy and sell using Linden currency, which you can earn (there are various lucrative trades in Second Life) or buy (using real money). So now you can use your hard-earned RL dollars to buy imaginary SL clothes, shoes, jewellery and so on. If you have enough money and join up as a paying member (which is not compulsory), you can buy land. Once you own land, you can build.

I have been exploring Second Life for only a few weeks, and already I can see the allure of buying Linden currency. So far, I've gotten by without it, picking up free stuff and visiting places that truly interest me (there's a very nice elven island that I like). But that's because I'm trying to be true to who I am in RL.

Mind you, I quite enjoy trying out new outfits in SL. I also like chatting to people from all around the world (including a surprising number of Dutch people). I don't like feeling an obligation to these people that means I leave my RL family in the cold. On balance, I suspect that it's hard for people to find a good balance between RL and SL. The whole idea of recreating yourself is very alluring. But I prefer to develop the person I am in the real world, an even more challenging and rewarding adventure!