I was thinking of starting a new thread about
Second Life, but I think it makes more sense to bump this existing thread instead.
About 3 years ago, I was really heavily into Second Life. I would often spend all night on it, eventually logging off at about 6am. At first, I thought it was an amazing answer to my lack of companionship. However, eventually I got rather disturbed by it (it was my own fault), and left.
It's truly amazing how
immersive it can be. You can never understand that immersion until you've experienced it yourself. You genuinely feel you're really "there". You take great care and pride in your avatar's appearance. You want to "dress" smartly. You find yourself instinctively obeying the social laws of
personal space that exist in real life. For example, not standing too close to a person while speaking, and feeling uncomfortable if someone stands too close to you. Quite amazing.
But one day I realised that you have absolutely
no idea what kind of people are behind these avatars. In particular, there appear to be a lot of guys using pretty female avatars. This fact, combined with the fact that Second Life is deeply immersive and feels very real, can lead to some very strange experiences if you're not thinking straight. I'm sure those of you who spend a lot of time in virtual worlds are aware of this, but I was thoroughly unprepared.
Here's what eventually freaked me out. I met a pretty girl avatar, owned by a girl who lived in Australia (or so "she" said). We spent a lot of time together, building things, showing each other what we'd created in the virtual world. It was fun, and felt great. But then things started getting a little romantic. It felt exciting. We went to a ballroom dance. I wore a tux, and "she" wore a stunning dress. The ballroom was beautiful. The music was beautiful. We had some slow romantic dances together, and started whispering sweet romantic things to each other.
Suddenly, I absolutely freaked out. I thought, "Oh s***, what the f*** am I doing??" I had allowed this fantasy to become dangerously real to me. I had absolutely
no idea who was controlling this avatar, or even if they were female. Of course, it was my own fault. I should've stayed alert to the reality of the situation. But I was so desperate for a relationship at that time, and I had allowed this tempting fantasy to suck me right in. So I left SL after that night.
Now of course, SL can be used for many cool things. I know some people are heavily into role-playing, which sounds like a lot of fun if that's your thing. If you're creatively talented, you can actually make real money by selling your virtual creations. I wanted to give SL a go, but since there's no ultimate purpose for being there (unlike World of Warcraft, etc), you have to invent your own purpose. Building stuff in the virtual world is good fun. But eventually, I found there wasn't enough to keep me interested. I think I would've left anyway, even if I hadn't had that freaky "romantic" experience. I was looking for meaningful friendship at the time, and I'm glad I eventually realised that that fantasy world wasn't the right place in which to look for it.
Is anyone else here on SL? If so, what do you use it for? Have you had any cool or strange experiences? What do you think is the future of virtual worlds such as SL, WOW, etc?
