Submitted by Mirra Watkins
Imagine a world of “infinite possibilities.” A world that has a flourishing economy that will never go under. Your entire life is completely controlled by you. Type of business, education, income, gender, employment, race, body, mate — it is all decided by you. A tad bit enticing it sounds, does it not? Such a wondrous and perfect life is so easily attainable in the online virtual world known as Second Life.
For those who are not familiar with it, Second Life is a more interactive and elaborate way of Facebooking while indulging in one’s fantasies that people enjoy or admire in TV, books, or films. Create your own avatar and be whoever and wherever you wish to be in “a life without boundaries” where “the sky is hardly the limit.” Though it sounds like a fun way of escapism, Second Life (and other programs like it: Sims and IMVU) has become harmful to our society. It has contributed to the isolation of people from the real world, hindering users from real-life interactions within our society.
In D. Stanley Eitzen’s “The Atrophy of Social Life,” he discusses how some types of social advancement has led to a downfall in social interaction. One social advancement that he touches on is technology and how it has led many to social isolation. In connection with Second Life, the virtual world has caused many to isolate themselves from society. No doubt about it, Eitzen was making a valid point.
Second Life has led many users to spend over 20 hours a week engaging in a false life. Twenty to forty hours a week (according to The Wall Street Journal) are dedicated to sitting at home, cooped up in a room, gazing at a screen, interacting with other avatars with false identities. Would you not say that was socially isolating oneself? Some Second Life users might claim that it’s not, that they are still interacting and socializing…just with other users. However, take a closer look.
Are Second Life users engaging in “face-to-face interaction,” where real connections between people are genuinely formed? Eitzen mentioned that "we are becoming an autistic society" because we are "communicating electronically without really connecting." There is a greater level of intimacy and meaning in a relationship amongst two people in real life who know each other’s true selves than two avatars that are little to nothing like the real individuals behind the computer screen. Therefore, Second Life users are actually socially isolating themselves for they are not having "face-to-face interactions" that form real connections and relationships. Look at the picture below, it only represents one kind of relationship (dating) people can have, but generally speaking which type of relationship would be more meaningful to you or give you a greater sense of connection, the virtual one (left) or the real-life one (right)?
I have read many accounts from Second Life users who have become or previously were addicts to the virtual world. Some users gradually started ignoring the real people and responsibilities of their first life in order to spend more time on Second Life. As Eitzen said, “The more time people spend online, the less they can spare for real life relationships with family and friends,” and forming new meaningful, real-life relationships. Many users claimed Second Life was interfering with work, friends, school, family, and love. They skipped out on social outings and spending quality time with family and friends. They avoided doing homework or work at the office. Alone in their house for hours, they shunned the outside world in exchange for playing in a virtual world where people could fabricate their looks and lives. Eventually, “second life became [their] first life.” Therein lies, why Second Life users should be cautious so that their virtual world does not isolate and alienate them from the real world and their real-life relationships.
I do understand we all have our hobbies and things that we like to indulge in to escape from reality. There’s nothing wrong with interacting or socializing on Second Life. But just like any other hobby, it is wrong to indulge too much time into a leisure activity that causes you to isolate yourself from society. When a person finds himself spending more time in Second Life with virtual friends than hanging out with his friends and family or not trying to meet just as many new people in the real world as he made in a virtual world, now is the time for reevaluation. Finding a balance between Second Life and interactions in real life will help many people refrain from becoming socially isolated.
Imagine a world of “infinite possibilities.” A world that has a flourishing economy that will never go under. Your entire life is completely controlled by you. Type of business, education, income, gender, employment, race, body, mate — it is all decided by you. A tad bit enticing it sounds, does it not? Such a wondrous and perfect life is so easily attainable in the online virtual world known as Second Life.
For those who are not familiar with it, Second Life is a more interactive and elaborate way of Facebooking while indulging in one’s fantasies that people enjoy or admire in TV, books, or films. Create your own avatar and be whoever and wherever you wish to be in “a life without boundaries” where “the sky is hardly the limit.” Though it sounds like a fun way of escapism, Second Life (and other programs like it: Sims and IMVU) has become harmful to our society. It has contributed to the isolation of people from the real world, hindering users from real-life interactions within our society.
In D. Stanley Eitzen’s “The Atrophy of Social Life,” he discusses how some types of social advancement has led to a downfall in social interaction. One social advancement that he touches on is technology and how it has led many to social isolation. In connection with Second Life, the virtual world has caused many to isolate themselves from society. No doubt about it, Eitzen was making a valid point.
Second Life has led many users to spend over 20 hours a week engaging in a false life. Twenty to forty hours a week (according to The Wall Street Journal) are dedicated to sitting at home, cooped up in a room, gazing at a screen, interacting with other avatars with false identities. Would you not say that was socially isolating oneself? Some Second Life users might claim that it’s not, that they are still interacting and socializing…just with other users. However, take a closer look.
Are Second Life users engaging in “face-to-face interaction,” where real connections between people are genuinely formed? Eitzen mentioned that "we are becoming an autistic society" because we are "communicating electronically without really connecting." There is a greater level of intimacy and meaning in a relationship amongst two people in real life who know each other’s true selves than two avatars that are little to nothing like the real individuals behind the computer screen. Therefore, Second Life users are actually socially isolating themselves for they are not having "face-to-face interactions" that form real connections and relationships. Look at the picture below, it only represents one kind of relationship (dating) people can have, but generally speaking which type of relationship would be more meaningful to you or give you a greater sense of connection, the virtual one (left) or the real-life one (right)?
I do understand we all have our hobbies and things that we like to indulge in to escape from reality. There’s nothing wrong with interacting or socializing on Second Life. But just like any other hobby, it is wrong to indulge too much time into a leisure activity that causes you to isolate yourself from society. When a person finds himself spending more time in Second Life with virtual friends than hanging out with his friends and family or not trying to meet just as many new people in the real world as he made in a virtual world, now is the time for reevaluation. Finding a balance between Second Life and interactions in real life will help many people refrain from becoming socially isolated.
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