How Different from Real Life Is Second Life?

 

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. 

Albert Einstein

 

 

          After some recent wanderings in Second Life (SL) and meeting with friends, I stopped to think for a bit.  (Yes, this is always the part where Significant Other begins to worry.)

          Yes, I know!

          Thinking can be dangerous especially for those inclined to get so caught up in their thoughts that they sometimes forget about Real Life (RL).  (OK, maybe Significant Other

does have a point.)

          Spoiler alert!

          In this story, as I do every once in a while, I’m going to meander with my thoughts and maybe even get a little philosophical.  (OK, maybe it’s more than every once in a while.)

          I’m going to kick around the idea that maybe, just maybe, SL is not all that different from RL for many of us.  (Significant Other rapidly leaves the room.)

          I’d like to start with my friends inworld.

          I have several.  Whether or not I have many is subjective so I won’t go there.  (But, there are more than my three loyal readers!)

          Among these several friends of mine there are some whom I’d say are very good and close friends. (Have no worries, I’m not going to out anyone!  You’re secret is safe with me.)

          The remainder of my friends are those whom I met for a story, or people whom I once was a fellow traveler with briefly across the Grid, or sadly, those whom have just disappeared and have never been seen again.  I wish them well wherever they are!

          Are these friends any different from the ones I have in RL?

          We talk about many of the same things in both worlds.  OK, a few like nudity and

BDSM are probably reserved for inworld alone.  But, my point is we have common interests which we discover while conversing.

          We worry about one another.

          We share our RL ups and downs, sharing just enough to give a sense of our issues but keeping the RL details private. 

          Most importantly, we help one another out.

          Like those who are helping a SL friend obtain a service animal in RL and raising funds for diabetes research which are just two examples.      

          Then there are the communities that we form and join inworld many times around our RL interests. 

          Some are faith based like First UCC who have a mission to the LGBT community in RL, others like Relay for Life are formed to help the fight against cancer in RL, and some,

like Beau Belle’s, are there just to bring us together socially for music and dance. 

          Why do we do this?

          For a variety of reasons, maybe we care, or we’re lonely, or we’re interested in things that we’d never do in RL. 

          Maybe whom we are in SL is not all that different from whom we are in RL. 

          Yes, there may be some experimentation inworld, but we’re still the same person that came in with is from RL.

          I go back to what one wise old avatar once told me shortly after I first rezzed into SL.  He said to remember that behind every avatar is a real person with real feelings.

          I think that just about sums it up, don’t you? 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk

with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!