This isn't real life?

I see people frequently advising us that SL isn't real life and I don't understand. I pay real money to play SL and I spend real life time here sitting in front of a real life PC. Am I a dead person or something? If SL isn't real life then reading a book or watching TV isn't either. Can someone define real life for me so I can get on with it? Thanks!

I agree. If its not real then i dont expect them to make a real charge to my credit card every month. its real but not physical.. you cant touch it with your hands.

Before I answer, are you a real person? Just kidding! I've always hated the "it's not real life" or "it's just a game" mentality applied to SL. It seems to most often be used when justifying bad or inconsiderate behavior. But what do I know? I'm just a figment of your imaginations

When I am immersed in a book, or movie, or art project that is as real an activity as is creating and interacting in SL. I agree with you!

Hehe, I have wondered about this from time to time.

There seems to be some different schools of thought on this issue.

Some folks don't see a line between the two, some do. I would imagine over the next ten to twenty years you will find less and less people compartmentalizing. We will likely be managing more of our lives on the net and that means accepting virtual things as real things if they cost you money and/or time to develop or acquire. It also means recognizing and treating the people behind the avatars like you would treat the people you interact with on a daily basis in RL.

Personally I think some folks have an issue with a grey area here because they feel (through upbringing, peer issues, or the like) that it means you have no real life, that you are a "loser" etc. That may not apply to all who draw a sharp line.

Regardless of which way one handles it, a lot of folks seem to be pretty passionate about their feelings pertaining to this issue.

Reality is perception. Whats the difference between talking to your friend on a cellfone and chatting at a night club with your friend in SL? Is talking into a plastic device that sends your voice at the speed of light to another human's ear more real than typing a word and having it get sent at the speed of light to a screen and being read?

The folks who claim SL isn't Real, lack the ability to accept SL as a means of communication between humans, events, etc... Something which is not-real is in fact a figment of your imagination. Ghosts aren't real, the bogeyman isn't real, and so are other similar things.

If SL was a 976- Party Line, would the people on the line be real? Second Life is very real. But not from a tangable aspect, but in the form of Communication.

In my experience, when people say that SL isn't real life, it's code for "chill out," or "don't take this so fargin' seriously!"

"Why do people spend money on land that doesnt even exist?"

My land in Penrith is there, I can visit it anytime I want. It is just located in an unusual place. I dont have to get in my truck and drive hours to get there, I just have to log in to SL.

Spending money on Arizona ocean front property would be something that didnt exist.

Sl is NOT real life. You also pay RL money to watch movies, and RL money to play arcade games. You are a real person, your SL avatar is not. Your SL is not RL. Yes, it's possible to make money via SL, and it's possible to live a second life through SL, but regardless, it is not your real life.

I don't think people are equating SL to RL in a direct comparitive sense. I think they are stating that everything we do in our real lives is part of real life. Whether its watching TV, reading, listening to music, what have you, they're all part of our lives.

I guess the part that gets to me is when folks antagonize others and then throw out the *this isn't RL, get a grip* type sentiment. SL itself may not be real life but people's feelings are, regardless of the venue.

Second Life has really touched me.

Really.

I don't know for certain why it bugs me so much when somone repeats an assertion and calls that an argument.

Those movies and arcade games are part of RL. SL is part of RL.

I am a real person. My av is me in exactly the same way the voice a person hears on thier telephone when they call me is me. I get my av clothes I like, and make it do things I'd do (in some cases, do if I could in RL) and make it look like I want all becasue it's me. That's why it's called an avatar.

I have real freinds in SL, too. They all exist, and are all human. My interactions with them are based on the same matters of commonality and respect I'd have with them through direct contact, simply becasue they're human and I'm not fooled by the medium.

I hug my freinds - my avatar hugs thier avatars - as a symbol of my very real affection for them. I have words I type that describe what my collection of animations can not yet do, also as symbols for my affection for one I care about. Why is that not real? Just because they aren't in the same room with me?

My SL things are real - real collections of digital data. I worked hard on those constructs, and they represent real work and real effort. Does that not deserve any respect at all simply becasue they have to be rendered by a computer to be seen?

SL is part of my RL. If it isn't for you, hey, that's cool. But don't insist that something humans do isn't part of thier lives just becasue it isn't for you.

In my experience, people think SL is real life when it's convenient for them to do so. And they think SL is a game when it's convenient for them to do so. And they think real life is a game, when it's convenient for them to do so. So I don't take what people think seriously.

Unless it's convenient for me to do so.

hehe, astute observation Dallas.

This is not RL its SL, its not RL but it is... its not a game but it is, its..mumble..mumble...
WHAT IS SL...

We deal with real people here, we pay with our cash, we play in a place online, i think when there are people involved, its not "just a game"

pfff i am getting out of here, i don't make anny sence i think...

My definition of real life: The life in which I can use all of my senses. For me, real life is what I can see, hear, touch, taste and smell. Yes, when I log into SL, I'm really experienceing the world, and I'm interacting with real people. However, the life I lead in this virtual world is not my real life, it is a result of a decision I made in my real life to enjoy an alternate life that isn't bound by the laws of real life.

I can quit my SL whenever I wish without irreversible consequence. However, if I quit my real life, I would have to be dead.

Most people who say this (That second life is not real that is), from my experience, are the church, which looks down on all things internet, or the republicans,

For people who are disabled like me, Second Life makes it possiable for us to move around with-out worrying about our disabilities. It lets us be free to make starships and to run businesses. Relationships in Second Life are just as real if not more so than relationships in the real world.

Thank you Magnum. I have seen SL empower many people, including those with autism, cerebral palsy, paraplegics, and others who wish to be liberated and feel more human through this emotional technology. Of course the touching saga of Wilde Cunningham continues:

http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2004/12/the_nine_souls_.html

Many more chapters left to be written, ah . . .

I have friends who cannot walk offline who find it exhilarating to fly in here. And other friends who have bad backs and cannot hop around as much as they would like to, but get a kick out the dance machines inworld. I myself have poor social judgment.

I am in no position to define what is real for anyone else, but I do know my experiences to be real for myself.

I have since cut down my usage of the term "RL" for "Real Life". It has become stale and archaic to me. I refer to it as "OL" or Offline Life, for me, this is far more accurate. "First Life" is also acceptable to me, because "Second Life" is like the higher levels on a wedding cake -- as long as it's well-balanced, it will be sweeeeeet.

No doubt... the foundation must be solid.

That goes without saying...

but I just said it.

i believe that sl is a part of my RL. but it is the part of my RL i go to defy the limits of my RL.

in RL i'm a debt ridden student. in SL i'm a land baron! SL is two clicks to an instant party. when ever i feel like slacking off SL is there! and the best part is i can fly. when SL gets boring for a while, flying over the surreal landscape still keeps me hooked.

i think people should be cautious in how much weight they put in their SL relationships. exclusively technologically mediated relationships lack quite a bit in my opinion. i truly respect and admire all of my sl acquantences and i enjoy playing out our friendships. but there is a limit, for me, how far these friendships can evolve without rl interaction or validation. my friends cannot be anonymous to me. that is simply an absurd notion.

Just curious, what does that mean, exactly?
Do you require direct contact for that validation, or would additional commnications via older mediums like telephone be included?

good question, jillian. i didn't mean it as if i'd like to authenticate their identity witha credit card kind of deal

i put a lot of value in embodiment and, probably like most others, i privilege offline relationships. playing anonymously is privileging disembodiment, something i have less value for. for me to feel friendship with someone, i want to know their name. i want to know what they look like, their gender, or to hear their voice. friends should be able to rely on one another, trust one another. and all meaningful relationships should have a certain degree of accountability. keeping it anonymous and "in the game" is not a real frienship to me. it's a play friendship. (i have no problems with having play friendships though )

i have a few friends in SL who have shared their RL names or pictures with me. that means a lot to me.

i have a tough time trusting people in SL who evasive about their rl. i definitely value the time i spend with them less. but i enjoy it nevertheless

Thank you, Jauani. I find it endlessly fascinating the various boundaries people put on thier lives.

I'm not one for caring much about what people I interact with in SL are hiding behind the medium's limitations. Having a life-long history of being dissapointed in my physical self but fairly satisfied with most of my mental self, I've gotten to where I see the mind as being not merely more important but all that counts in any relationship.

It's not easy to hide the personality - so I just let people do and eventually they are revealed. I may still not know what they look like, what plumbing they were born with, or what they sound like, but I think I know who they are plenty well enough to decide on remaining freinds with them. So, for me, this medium provides no actual anonymity. (Though it does slow down stalkers. )

Not to say I haven't exchanged pictures with a couple SL freinds or even called another SLer on the phone. That is a neat way to expand on a freindship.

That is also not to say that my own set of boundaries hasn't casued me a few problems or given me a few shocks, either.