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There are a lot of online articles which i have read about second life and everyones opinions of virtual worlds like this vary. Some people just can't understand the benefits of virtual worlds and others associate them with 'computer geeks'.
I personally do not see the fascination with virtual worlds yet i also do not think people are 'strange' to use them. Each to their own.
Virtual worlds may be the only way certain people can communicate; for example people who are autistic, bed bound or disabled. Imagine living your whole life not feeling equal to others around you and having no self confidence. These people can now join a virtual world, create a new look and be treated just the same, prehaps feel accepted for once in their life.
The majority of avatars in second life are 'attractive' women are tall, slim, with huge boobs and tiny waists, the bed are tall tattooed and built. Of course most of these people do not look like this in real life, so in that case they are not representing themselves but they are creating a digital identity.
From vampires, wearwolfes, dragons, furries, robots, these people can create whatever form they want and live out their 'fantasies'.
Of course this can lead to virtual worlds having a more sinister side. When i went on second life i saw one child avatar, i thought this was very wierd as it's a site for 18+ only. My mind boggles as to why a grown adult would pretend to be a child. Then a came across this news story: http://techcrunch.com/2007/10/30/virtual-pedophilia-report-bad-news-for-second-life/
Joining Second life.
Ok so joining is pretty easy and simple, i picked an avatar which looked pretty crazy with all bright colours. I arrived and walked around a bit. I went to a SIM called London and decided to tell people i was a student studying second life and i decided to ask them why they come on second life.
Jeremy Bailenson from Stanford University wrote interesting articles on self representation.
'In an online enviroment a perceiver interacting with a target who is using an attractive avatar may cause the target to behave in a more friendly and charming manner".
Bailensons research shows that the confidence or insecurities we show within the real world can sometimes transformed into the online world aswell. "When we cloak ourselves in avatars, it subtly alters the manner in which we behave," says Bailenson. "It's about self-perception and self-confidence."
I found a documentary called "Second Skin" it went behind the avatars and showed you the lives of people that play virtual worlds. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/second-skin/
This documentary shows the percentage of ages that are in virtual worlds:
60% : 20 - 35
25% : 12 - 19
15% : 35+
This includes all worlds such a ones aimed at teenagers, Club penguin, Habbo Hotel ect.
A quote from one of the players in this is "We can be who we want to be, not who we pretend to be with out friends, who we really are."
There is a difference between how people represent themselves on a networking sight such as facebook and how they represent themselves in virtual worlds such as second life. With facebook you are connected to your friends and people you know in the real world whereas in a virtual world you are totally annoymous so its like starting on a blank canvas. On facebook you can't pretend to be something completly different to who you really are as your friends will think you're well.. wierd.
The positives of a virtual world is as i said, it does allow people who struggle to communicate in the real world to communicate freely online. It gives people the chance to be whoever they want to be, human or other, and to look in a way they would never look in their real world. The negatives are that it could almost take over real world socialising. If people prefer to sit inside and play on the computer as apose to go out and meet friends than they may eventually become lonely.
