Assessment Three: Essay

Is there a place for Second Life, a virtual world, in today’s society?


An alternate world has been created which enables an unlimited number of self-obliging protagonists in the form of a three-dimensional virtual representation of his or her self, to live in a place “where imagination knows no boundaries[1]”. Second Life has been invading the everyday lives of people in this world, and as a popular fad, is spreading fast. At the end of March 2008, approximately thirteen million accounts had been registered, which is a huge amount considering this time-consuming virtual world was only opened to public in 2003[2]. In today’s society, lives are filled with business, play, fun and love: is there really room for people to have a Second Life?

Across the world there are hands creating their own lives through their computers, beginning with the creation of an avatar. Light or dark-skinned, male or female, big or slim [3], the possibilities seem endless. Just a few clicks, and your logged on to a different world, where you change who you are and possibly even bring your dreams to life. A bond is created between the human and their character as they experience ways to dodge cultural discrimination and other personal social restrictions. Off-line status, power, wealth, race and gender have little bearing on your on-line presence and influence; off-line fact is dissociated from on-line ‘fiction’. Even sexual relations can be accessed and performed while influencing an avatar. A mutual desire of two avatars may lead to the co-ordination of a sex act, with accessories available for purchasing. This enables humans who may be too embarrassed, afraid or sexually inexperienced in reality to explore the nature of sex without risking physical humiliation or pain. This does influence an “invasive modification of the human body[4]” and creates, or even increases a sheltered society. With the ability to experience sensations and activities in Second Life, why should users risk the unknown consequences of performing these actions in reality?

The media of typed messaging allows for carefully constructed presentations of aspects of one’s self to others and relationships are formed based solely on what users choose to reveal about themselves. ‘Dissociative Anonymity’ refers to the opportunity which allows users to separate their online actions from their real world and identity, so that actions undertaken in the in-world have no direct repercussions in the physical world; therefore, users feel less vulnerable to judgement and the jeopardising of their offline status. With no revelation of body language or facial expression, a valuable aspect of cyberspace is the anonymity which is created between communicators, serving as a basis for the forming of on-line relationships. ‘Solipsistic Introjection[5]’ is the experience of reading a typed message and hearing a voice within one’s own head representing the voice of the typed message. Either consciously or unconsciously, people assign a visual image to their online companion, imagining their appearance and tone of voice. This online companion now becomes a character within one’s intrapsychic world, shaped by personal expectations, wishes and needs. Each person “impacted by rapid technological change” is almost encouraged to create lies and a false image for themselves to be viewed in their online status. Meeting other avatars and their owner, is a deceptive process, as instead of the avatar representing it’s humans self, it is merely an image of what the user wishes they could be. In terms of morals, building relationships, even if online, through lies and deceit is evidently immoral: not only does it have no future when truth is introduced, but in order for it to survive, more lies must be made.

These escapists leave the real world whenever they please, perform their desired duties, then return without any real change apparent. Each action and all the energy users exercise and waste in Second Life is depriving the real world. By visiting a certain place in Second Life instead of in real life, results in affecting the tourism industry. Purchasing clothes and accessories for avatars reflects the budget used to buy users own belongings consequently affects consumerism. Businesses are beginning to initiate on Second Life which sees businessmen and women online everyday, advertising to sell their interest to avatars, to be used in this virtual world and not benefit the real world in any way[6]. Time and money which should be concentrated on the world we live in, is instead starving real life by being consumed by Second Life. It is almost as if another country has been formed, as the Linden Dollar is Second Life’s very own currency which has a relevant exchange rate for users to change their US dollars in order to benefit their make-believe avatars[7].

“Online text communication can become the psychological tapestry in which a person’s mind weaves fantasy role-play into a hyper-extended reality[8]”. In today’s society, social lives are having the most drastic affect as a result of Second Life. A radical change is already evident as a result of new communication technologies, so the effect of an enlarging Second Life could be drastic. Romance is no longer an intimate relationship and connection two people share, but instead a physically and emotionally distanced feeling[9], which can hardly be described as a relationship and each person sitting behind a monitor, cannot even tell if the significant other they are communicating with through cyberspace is experiencing a mutual reaction [10]. As a result of this culture revolution in science fiction, the more energy being spent on Second Life reduces the impact of reality as more effort is being exasperated into another life. Detriments which could be made to society in the future must be considered in contemplating whether Second Life deserves a place in today’s society. Although the obvious remedy for those socially alienated and who need to indulge in Second Life in order to survive everyday reality, is to make the most of the life you have, instead of trying to invent another one which at the most can only be “pretend”.


[1] Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Four Corners, You Only Live Twice program transcript.
www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1873399.htm

[2] Nino, Tateru. Key Second Life Metrics for March April 16 2008
http://www.massively.com/2008/04/16/key-second-life-metrics-for-march/

[3] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace, article February 2005
Adolescents in Cyberspace
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/adoles.html

[4] Lawrence Person in Notes towards a Postcyberpunk Manifesto http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=99/10/08/2123255

[5] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace, article January 2007
Second Life, Second Chance
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/secondlife.html

[6] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace Blog (Last updated Friday January 12 2007)
http://psycyber.blogspot.com/

[7] Linden lab
http://www.lindenlab.com/

[8] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace, article April 1999
Cyberspace as Dream World
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/cybdream.html

[9] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace, article September 2004
The Final Showdown between In-person and Cyberspace Relationships
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/showdown.html

[10] Suler, John. The Psychology of Cyberspace, article January 2007
The Psychology of Text Relationships
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psytextrel.html

Essay Outline

Is there a place for Second Life, the virtual world, in today’s society?
Morally:
Opened to public in 2003.
Each user has their own motional avatar which allows them to socialise and communicate.
Legally:
US dollars can be converted into Linden dollars.
Late 2006 and early 2007 through media and the news, this craze came to international attention.
End of March 2008, approximately 13million accounts were registered (some inactive).
Technically:
Can be described as the Metaverse where users can interact, play, do business and communicate in their world.
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." It is also a subgenre of industrial rock music. The name is derived from cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983,[1] although the style was popularized well before its publication by editor Gardner Dozois. It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or a radical change in the social order.
Socially:
According to Lawrence Person,
“Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body”
It often expresses a sense of rebellion, suggesting that one could describe it as a type of culture revolution in science fiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk
http://teen.secondlife.com/
http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=Second+Life&meta=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&cs=utf8&rys=0&itag=crv&_sb_lang=pref&q=Second+Life&o=10
http://lindenlab.com/
http://www.secondlifeherald.com/
http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17538999/
http://trumpy.cs.elon.edu/metaverse/wiki/index.php/Second_Life

3D Worlds and Socialising on the Internet

Instant messaging programs, especially MSN, is one of my most commonly used computer program. Everyone on my messenger account is either a friend, relative or acquaintance of mine that I have personally added or accepted. In a 3D environment, it is more like a game or a pretend world. Not only are you chatting to other users, but you are also creating a make believe world using your own character and applications. Your only priority in entering the 3D world is not to chat, but also to involve yourself in other activities. Also, in a 3D environment, you are not necessarily communicating with people you know. Subsequently you are meeting new people, maybe even from the other side of the world. Instant messaging is more intimate and focuses on conversing with friends etc. A photo is shown so you know what each other looks like and the option to start a webcam conversation is always there. Fake characters are used in 3D environments, so it is not always clear who you are talking to or what they are really like. In the future, this could result in people relying on 3D environments to meet others and to escape reality and intimacy.

Advanced Uses of Microsoft Word and Basic Microsoft Excel

Typing the required exercise was relatively quick and easy and changing the format of the text was fun and enabled me to customise my entry. Using Microsoft Word is very easy and straightforward. It is extremely useful for university purposes, such as typing an essay or even just study notes. Having the knowledge and ability to apply basic functions using Microsoft word such as headers and footers and double spacing, will make my university essays appear more academic. Moving onto more complex things, track changes and mail merge is a little bit tricky. Fortunately Microsoft Word has a very efficient help function which step by step informs you how to work through these tasks. In first year university these functions aren't extremely useful, however it is apparent that in later years and especially in the workforce these can be easily applied to my everyday work. More practise will ensure I will become more fluent in using these applications.

Using Microsoft Excel for the first three exercises were also quick and easy. It is quite important to be able to perform these tasks as no matter what area of study you are in, it is very likely that at some point you will need to create a graph or even just a table. Using macros is a bit harder to do, however once again the help button is very useful. However I could easily do this exercise without having to refer to it, but if in the future I forgot how to do this, I could simply have a look at the steps provided. This is not as useful to me, because in my area of study, I do not have to make huge graphs or tables or get given a lot of data to order, unlike those in business or science. However knowing how to do this is definitely an advantage for the future.

Usefulness of Wikipedia - Shortland Street

It can be assumed that this article is accurate, as it states the full names of the actors and actresses involved in this television show. It covers the history of Shortland Street, the storylines, the characters and basically every element needed to understand the show. Since it merely states facts and describes the setting, the article is relatively unbiased. However there are some points where the writer deliberately praises the show, such as "exciting and scandalous storylines". This article does provide everything to know about Shortland Street, including external links such as the program's website and locations, storylines and characters. Although, the only thing I would incorporate into the page in order to improve it would be photos, so the wikipedia community would be able to acknowledge and recognise characters and the setting.