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Third Web Writing Assignment
Second Life
In our postmodern society, we have become reliant on our computers for their many attributes. We have become increasingly aware of these attributes in our daily lives; we use computers for almost all of our daily communicating activities. We use computers to email friends, find out the latest news/gossip, check out the weather, buy clothes, and even to find a date or a soul mate.
These days we use computers to socially interact with our peers not only locally but around the globe as well. The many new social sites that pop up each year promise the user both love and friendship. This sounds great to all the lonely disconnected people out in the world. This is why Second Life, a virtual computer game, has become inhabited by millions of users all over the world. Second Life offers users a place to mingle, acquire information on a variety of topics, a place to connect with people of similarity, and most importantly Second Life offers the user a chance to live out their fantasies. The users of this program can do much more than communicate with others; they can purchase virtual land, acquire Second Life currency, and buy/sell virtual goods at local shops. These goods range from food to items for the users virtual house.
The user must pay for their virtual land on a monthly basis in addition to their membership monthly fee. The minimum amount of virtual land with cost the user about five dollars, however to purchase an entire region the cost will be about $195.00. On the other hand, to purchase a virtual island is entirely different. The cost of about 16 acres of virtual island is $1, 675. Along with the cost of the virtual island are monthly maintenance fees which are $295/month. Once paid for, the user has the freedom to restrict access to his/her island and if the user is not satisfied with the current island templates he/she can make up their own. With all these perks who wouldn’t want to have his/her own island.
The currency of Second Life is called Linden Dollars which are both bought and sold at the Linden Dollar Exchange. This currency is needed to purchase any item in the Second Life world. The Linden Dollars acquired by the user are transferred into their avatar account. The Linden Dollar is only visible in the virtual world which makes it completely unique to the Second Life world. The ability of the users of Second Life to create products/services for sale is quite unique to the virtual world.
The users of Second Life can create a product and put it up for sale in the virtual world which makes this world seem very realistic. This game seems to blur reality for it’s users between reality and virtual reality. The blur between reality and virtual reality has been studied by Sherry Turkle in her book titled “Life on the Screen.” Turkle writes “when we step through the screen into virtual communities, we recognize our identities on the other side of the looking glass.” (Turkle 177) Turkle gathers that we as users identify with the person in the screen as a fragment of ourselves. She goes on the state “the internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize postmodern life. Within virtual reality we self-fashion and self-create.” (Turkle 180) By self-create Turkle means users tend to create fragments of their personalities which are different from their current selves. Many users will use Second Life or MUDs as they are technically called can be an escape from their current real life situations.
Turkle finds that many users believe “MUDs or multi-user domains provide ample room for individuals to express unexplored parts of themselves.” (Turkle 185) MUDs, Turkle finds are causing more harm then good for its millions of users. Turkle finds, “when users get caught in self-contained worlds where things are simpler than in real life”, they will tend to loose their ability to cope with real world complications. (Turkle 185) Turkle goes on the discover that MUDs offer the user little ability to cope with their feelings on their own, due to the MUDs allowing them to create another character when the user looses money or gets in a fight with another avatar.
Just as Turkles book explored the blur between the real world and the game world; The Matrix” by screenwriters Larry and Andy Wachowski explored the blur between what it meant to be human and what it meant to be genetically engineered. Throughout “The Matrix”, the Wachowski brothers described the real world and the “real world”. Each world was inhabited by people, however the “real world” was the one where people could truly interact and be themselves. The Matrix had many types of people inhabiting its many levels which are similar to the world of Second Life. In both the Matrix and Second Life, people can be themselves which does lead to some problems. In Second Life, the character or characters one creates can take over the real life one has in their real world. Yet in the Matrix, the character played by Keanu Reeves is unsure of who he is because of the two different worlds he is simultaneously exposed to. In both worlds Reeves has to live a separate life which is troubling to his true self and his new self.
In today’s fast changing world, users are only adapting to the changes of the world around them. As in Reeves case, he has to quickly adapt to the changing world around him. Turkle finds that in our postmodern society we must understand that our “stable social worlds have been broken down.” (Turkle 255) These small social worlds are no longer stable due to the increase in internet virtual worlds. The Second Life allows users to adapt to these changes by allowing them the freedom to change persona at a moment’s notice, to change gender, and to become a totally different person. These abilities have allowed these users to do something no real human can do without going through a drastic surgery. The users of this program are becoming increasingly reliant on this program to help them through tough times and to be a best friend when no one else is around.
Second Life Homepage. 22 October 2007. http://www.secondlife.com
The Matrix Trilogy. Dir. Larry and Andy Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves. 1999. 22 October 2007. http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/
Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen. New York, NY. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. 1995. pgs. 177-255