psychological survey about Second Life

Good Lord. They're giving you a PhD for that!!?? I worked WAY too hard for my doctoral degree. All I had to do was throw together a bunch of garbage, not pay any attention to grammar or put any controls in place to ensure accuracy, and then make up some unsupported conclusions from whatever I get out of that mess.

My honest advice to you, if you are, in fact, going for a PhD is to buckle down. Life takes hard work. Anything you do that requires that kind of degree is going to be difficult and will require a strong work ethic. Put some hard thought into this project and try again, but this time put your full effort into it. You didn't put any effort at all into this survey. Do the work this time and make it pay off for you.

I remember going through school with some people who were absolutely brilliant - so smart they had skated through school without putting any work into it. they hit law school like a Buick hitting a concrete bridge embankment. If you are in a PhD program, everyone is smart. The thing that will set you aside is your work ethic. Pretend they are all smarter than you and the only way for you to keep up is to work twice as hard.

Good luck to you, and please take this advice to heart. You'll go much farther if you don't insult people with poor workmanship.

Or poor grammar.

I didn't finish the survey. If I did, you'd end up with some whacked-out data that wouldn't make much sense to you at all, because your questions aren't targeted at me or anyone like me. I fear that you will end up writing a report about supposed "addicts" who are actually just people putting a lot of hours and attention into SL in order to make a living or to learn something -- or even to visit with faraway relatives or to go to support group meetings or business meetings. I could sing you a nice chorus of "SL Is Not A Game" but I think most people around here know that tune already.

And then there are those of us who are just here looking for Magellan. He's not hiding in this thread, is he? *looks between posts and behind subject lines*

hi again

Thanks to all who replied anyway even though it looks like the survey isn't accepted well.

Just a few comments. English is not my native so there could have been some grammar mistakes and I apologize for that. Besides some statements may sound simple because they are measured by 'simple' feelings (e.g. flow - fun is its component).

To Kim: I know SL is not a game. I just wanted to check if SL responses would be similar to responses made by people from different environments (not only games). Besides addiction is not defined by playing (being online) time.

To Keira: I was forced to reduce the number of statements concerning real life because I didn't want the survey to be too long. The statements used are not random, they measure varables that are defined. And of course, the results of the survey will be skewed. People 'playing' SL are different from people playing mmo games. My intention for sure wasn't to make a survey to say 'they are addicts'. No, I was far more interested in motivation, in finding why for some people virtual life is more appealing than real life.

To Margareta: The results will be published on the same site the survey is published. I decided not to gather any contact data (like emails) becuse it looks suspicious for some people and I don't want to read that I send spam. In my first post I stated the aim and topic of the survey ('motivation to use Internet or play online games') as well as the length of it. I am too private person to ad my personal data and I don't think it's needed anyway.

Once again thanks for help and sorry if you feel you wasted your time.

Good to know. The survey, though, refers to "game" and "playing" and that's all the info we had. I imagined that you would consider more than online time when labeling "addicts." I figure it would include people who report they miss family gatherings in order to be in SL, think about it all the time, invest all of their savings in it, don't get enough sleep because they can't log off, and who might answer yes to a question like, "Do you find youself unable to take a break from SL even though you wish you could?" But what if that person is using SL to run a business -- this sounds like every new business owner I have ever known, in SL or not. I didn't get far enough to see anything that would help to make that distinction, but I don't know if that's because I stopped when I got to a question where there was no answer I could choose that would be accurate. I don't mean to attack you. It's just that I have seen many other research projects miss this in the past, and I am hoping you won't.



In your view, what is the difference between virtual life and real life? Are all activities in SL "virtual life"? Is someone using SL to take or teach a university class having a virtual life? What if the use of SL is mandatory -- required by an employer? Is your research project, because it is conducted online, not real life? Is using SL to prototype a real product or to sell one real life, or virtual life, or both? If one logs into SL to "visit" with a family member who lives far away, is that virtual life or real life? Does it matter if the family's avatars look like the actual people, or if they are cartoon animals?



I'm sorry if you felt the tone of my post was aggressive. I appreciate very much that you are taking the time to respond here. By responding, you turned what I feared was a waste of time into something very interesting -- thanks!

Kim,

You are right. The difference between real and virtual life is not clear. Especially in SL. Since I wanted my survey to be flexible (suiting games, chats, specific websites) I didn't define it too precisely, I just thought people whould know the difference intuitively. For me - running a business is not a virtual task, it is real unless you're not going to earn real money. Same applies to school or classes - virtual is only a platform. Of course, there are less clear examples. Like looking for virtual friends. It's virtual if you're never going to meet them irl. But what if you don't exclude it?

Some people may understand virtuality differently, they may think that most things they do at computer are virtual. I asked about 'favourite computer activity' vs 'real life'. I assumed people would intuitively know what is 'real life' in their case.

There could be said much more on the topic but it's not the place to discuss it so I stop here.

I will rethink some survey statements anyway, thanks for comments.

Kim,

Nice idea but you would get a better idea if you would go into 2nd life and spend a few days hanging out in diffrent sims,BDSM,gay ect ect..

The best lab rats are the one's not knowing there being tested,heck I got a few notebooks full of info from a site called RLC.

As for me..Im Retired and I get bored so I come into 2nd life for something to do,I do not
feel the need for social acceptance nor do I care to deal with or relate to other Human beings..I am the text book def of anti social.

Been in 2nd life for 3 mos and have 2 people on my buddy list and them I have known for yrs.

Congrats on the PHD I went as far as my master from Humboldt University of Berlin(same field about),but do to my Army career I did not go any further,that and after 12 yrs of being in just about every дерьмо hole is the world I developed a strong distain for people,so that would not be a good career field for me to attain.

Still I enjoy attaching to a group and making them my lab rats for a few weeks,its rather intertaining at times.

Rebel

QFT; I feel that way about my RL job AND my SL job now and then. Sometimes you just gotta login whether you like it or not, to take care of business. Doesn't make me an "addict." The term "addict" gets thrown around a lot, especially regarding computer games. It's unfortunate and insulting. Lance Armstrong isn't a bicycling addict because he rides his bike more than a few hours a day, is he? To a lot of people, bicycling is a pastime, nothing more. To some, it's an intense hobby that they enjoy doing very often. To some, like Lance, it's a job.

That's how SL is; it can be occasional, it can be every day, it can be intensive, it can be job AND hobby, or it can be purely job. The OP steps on a lot of toes using the word "addict" here...

I have seen and taken many tests to determin if you are addicted to online gaming. They all have the same thing in common ... "Do you *feel* like you play too much?" They never try to say what a normal level is, so if you play one hour a week and *feel* guilty, then you are addicted.

To me the solution was simple. Quit feeling guilty. Just like RL, everything is much simpler once your conscience is muted

I am totally sure you are "addicted" when I see the amount of postings (over 4000) and I am wondering about your statement that "sport" is past Sorry!

You cannot compare apple and pear.

So when Oryx feels that being termed "addicted" is insulting, you go ahead and do just that based on her post count? Interesting approach.

I do wonder what percentage of these surveys are actual legitimate sources for term papers, thesis and dissertations.

And which are just someone trying to get some information working a part time job for some place.

How cool I would love to visit Wahoe - or Koko the ASL speaking gorilla - Everything I've every read about them has been just fascinating.

It was very cool indeed. I loved how the caretakers asked the chimps whether they wanted rice or pasta for dinner and they signed the word for rice. Now I'll never forget the ASL sign for rice.

That's how the "researchers" started out years ago until we found out and started screaming.

They probably just got cagier about it.

so you're counting this as a game? or as chat? Lol, I can't get past the first question! I think I know the answer that you want, but you haven't given any definitions.. and don't seem to have any.. as it would more accurately be closer to chat than a game..

It certainly makes them seem a lot less different from humans than is often assumed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

I see alot of posts question his text style, as well as answer format... its not supposed to be properly formatted text... its designed to cause the mind to reach certain answers and see what format fits your mindset the most

I would volunteer, IF I thought that many of the fields of psychology were actual science. The only parts of psychology which are actual science is neuropsychology (physical determination of how the brain works), behavioral psychology (which is greatly helpful in aiding individuals in changing their own behaviors using scientifically tested methods), and some parts of abnormal psychology dealing with obvious imbalances in the brain. The rest is philosophy at best, and religion at worst.

This survey is an example of how psychology is not scientific. It isn't double blind (Researcher knows that the results are from SL users, and subjects know that they are being studied) selection isn't random (Forum-goers are a very different demographic than average SL users) and finally the questions themselves are ridiculous. The second section attempts to box questionees into six general meanings of existence (Please choose 1 to 5 based on importance). The questions also seem biased towards particular psychological schools of thought (Humanistic psychology), and if framed to do so, you will ensure that your hypothesis is proved.

So, I myself, who is a mere layman with a basic knowledge of science and a college drop-out sees fundamental flaws with how this survey is conducted, what will the professors grading it think? I hope they would give it low marks, though with the near absence of scientific method that many schools of psychology have shown, they may just give it a top grade.

And your credentials are?

Jaqueline - many ppl here live with circumstances probably very different from your own. To some, Second Life is a lifeline - a way to connect with others, create community and a sense of belonging. To some it's just game on a multitude of fronts. And for lots of us, various other needs bring us here.

You don't know what's happening for that person in his/her life behind that screen.

Why would you purposely insult someone who did you no harm nor caused you any insult then try to brush it off with "sorry"? She specifically said that she thought the term "addict" was insulting and the first thing you did was insult her with it? Take a look at how long she's been here and check her in-world profile. Does it make sense that someone who has been in SL for significantly longer than you might have a higher post count, and that that post count doesn't indicate some sort of illness? I'd also point out that Oryx takes a lot of time from her business to help new people like you both in-world and here in the forums when they have questions about how something works or they get frustrated with SL's learning curve. Her willingness to give of her time and knowledge is the reason a lot of us, including me, didn't get frustrated and leave early on. Compassion is hardly indicative of addiction.

If you want to look at someone who brings very little to the table in the form of helpfulness, yet has a high post rate, look at me. I'd be happy to debate the indices of online addiction with you. You had better bring your A game, though, and you might be advised to come up with a better argument than "you have a lot of posts, so you're an addict." Throwing sucker punches at Oryx or anyone else isn't going to get you anywhere.

First off, these are my opinions. Secondly, I am an alcoholic and addict, so I do know a bit about the subject. And I've been sober for quite some time, and I know quite a bit about myself.

Is a person an alkie because they drink everyday? No. Is a person an addict because they smoked 15 joints last night? No. Is a person eating addictively because they ate a whole chicken last night? No.

It's more complex than that. I drank. I drank most days. I drank a lot when I drank. That does not make me an alcoholic. What makes me an alkie is that when I drank, lots of bad stuff happened. I got DUIs, lost friends, lost family, lost jobs, lost my stuff, peed the bed, etc. And when I tried to quit, I could not. There is no question that I'm an addict and alcoholic.

What does that have to do with this discussion, you may be asking? Everything. When I got sober, I thought drugs and alcohol were my problem. Then I thought that the disease of addiction was my problem. Now, I realize that my problem was I was looking for happiness outside of myself. I used booze, drugs, women, porn, food, "stuff".....whatever that was "out there" I used to try to make myself happy. "Looking for love in all the wrong places..." The physical part of the addiction is not the core of it. It is a psychological and spiritual issue that needs to be dealt with. It is not about alcohol. And the gaming addiction we're talking about here is not about Second Life or WOW or my baseball simulations I love so much....lol.

So.....am I addicted to Second Life? Well, honestly, for me...I am. And I have to watch that....and I've made changes to my life recently. The reason is not the amount of time I've spent on here, or my number of posts (which is asinine, btw,) but how it effects me and my family. A quarter of my back yard died last year, because I was too busy immersing myself in SL....I'm serious....I used to have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood...well...except for that Lawn Addict next door who mows three times a week....another addiction...Lawn Addiction....a threat to our nation's welfare and probably a terrorist plot.

The other thing that is tricky, is that when we ask ourselves these questions, how do we know we're being honest? Thirty years ago, if you would have asked me if I felt my drinking and drugging "felt" wrong, I would have answered "No!" And I would have meant it. Denial was running in high gear though. They questions that we're asked to be honest about....well, they depend on the honesty within us. Now, at the end of my drinking, I knew I had a problem. Still took me years to open myself to the idea of AA, NA and CA, but I got there. Very grateful now, btw. What didn't kill me made me stronger and gave me the life I have today, which is amazing.

One more thing, I came across some completely asinine comments in another thread about addiction and it being some kind of weakness of character. Yeah, and so is diabetes and cancer and the flu. Addiction is recognized as a disorder, that is certainly treatable. It can come to the fore because of decisions we have made in the past, but it is not a weakness any more than another illness, whether it be physical or emotional. So, yeah, come out of the dark ages and stop insulting someone who is different from you. And remember...projection is a bitch...lol.

What? I login to Second Life maybe two or three times a WEEK, and then for two or three hours at a time. I spend a lot of times on the forums because I can keep up with the news and happenings without logging in to SL. I have other things going on in my life, see, that require at least a modicum of attention.

I totally don't understand your concern over my statement about "sport is past." ???