I was very curious to try out Second Life, so I went to the trouble of downloading the Second Life Viewer Application onto my computer, and creating an account. When selecting an avatar, I found myself wishing I could take a picture of myself and create an avatar that looks like me, because it would feel more real to me. Then again, if the goal of the virtual world is to escape, then that explains why people want unfamiliar avatars.
From a social point of view, I found Second Life to be at the same time interesting and creepy. It is very interesting to be able to socialize with people who are on the other side of the world. As I quickly found out, Second Life really draws you in. You get caught up in conversations, and in my case, I spent a lot of time trying to get the hang of moving around Second Life. I had a lot of trouble learning to move, chat, and do simple things like change my hairstyle and not stumble when I walked. I ended up staying online for an hour, when I had only planned to stay on for 15 minutes.
However, it is also kind of a disturbing experience. First off, I have to wonder why so many people want to go online and socialize with strangers. I can understand the desire if you live in a small, secluded village, but one of the people I spoke to was from Amsterdam. It seems to me it would be more satisfying to join a club or go on Meetup.com and socialize with real people at real venues. But then again, this virtual world lends you the anonymity you need to be freer in your exchanges, so I can see why it might draw some people in. And of course, there are “Mature” venues where people are looking to have sexual encounters, though again, I wonder if that could really ever be a satisfying experience.
On the technical side, I think the worlds are at times a little pixelated. I would have liked to see clearer graphics and more complete worlds.
All in all, this was an interesting though somewhat freaky experience. I have to admit it was captivating, but I would not use this tool on a regular basis because I really enjoy in-person socialization.
From a social point of view, I found Second Life to be at the same time interesting and creepy. It is very interesting to be able to socialize with people who are on the other side of the world. As I quickly found out, Second Life really draws you in. You get caught up in conversations, and in my case, I spent a lot of time trying to get the hang of moving around Second Life. I had a lot of trouble learning to move, chat, and do simple things like change my hairstyle and not stumble when I walked. I ended up staying online for an hour, when I had only planned to stay on for 15 minutes.
However, it is also kind of a disturbing experience. First off, I have to wonder why so many people want to go online and socialize with strangers. I can understand the desire if you live in a small, secluded village, but one of the people I spoke to was from Amsterdam. It seems to me it would be more satisfying to join a club or go on Meetup.com and socialize with real people at real venues. But then again, this virtual world lends you the anonymity you need to be freer in your exchanges, so I can see why it might draw some people in. And of course, there are “Mature” venues where people are looking to have sexual encounters, though again, I wonder if that could really ever be a satisfying experience.
On the technical side, I think the worlds are at times a little pixelated. I would have liked to see clearer graphics and more complete worlds.
All in all, this was an interesting though somewhat freaky experience. I have to admit it was captivating, but I would not use this tool on a regular basis because I really enjoy in-person socialization.