Since joining SL, Do you now feel like you are leading a double life?

I'm still a newbie here but that is how I'm feeling right at the moment just after five days - amazing!

The first couple of days were pretty normal - just flying around, sightseeing and window shopping (apart from the first place after Help Island where I got attacked by what looked like a swarm of giant blueberries that almost brought my computer to a halt . After learning the basics, I began socializing and now begin to feel really immersed shortly after logging in almost as if the FL doesn't exist - actually starting to feel like getting plugged into the Matrix or something.

The other question I'd like to ask is - When you sign off SL for the day, does your mind switch off from it too? Mine doesn't as it has so far been one of the most powerful internet experiences ever had! Having said that, being a little shy in nature and not doing a lot of internet chat before may have something to do with it but that is one of my main reasons for joining - to overcome those barriers.

Anyway, I'd like to know from other residents what their experiences were. If they had it and was a passing phase.

the only difference between my FirstLife and Second Life is my ava has a killer wardrobe, dances like a pro in stilettos, and has more shoes and hair than she knows what to do with.

although i do find myself being a bit more outgoing in world than i am out.

haha, this is the ultimate question of secondlife. I totally understand the matrix feeling. And being new, you still have so much you will experience that I couldnt begin to tell you. I think most people would view it one of two ways, either A) feel like they're living a double life, two seperate lives that slightly blend on occasion, or B) SL becomes more of your life than your RL, you start giving up rl social events to be online and see friends, you plan your schedule in RL around what you have planned in SL, you find yourself looking at people who annoy you and looking for the mute button, you try to put everything you own into a little box to save space, "lol, brb, afk, omg" become rl words of their own, when meeting new people the first place you look is above their head for their name and title, you find yourself driving 100mph down the wrong side of the rode with only underpants, and finally, you stop when entering new areas of town so that the simline doesnt crash you! heehee, well, B got carried a way a little, but I did mean it up until the mute part. I think more people than not start with a feeling of a double life, and that progresses into a life that is based more around SL than anything else. Can be a very dangerous thing, be carefully young blissful newbie )

Second Life does draw you in - like although it's virtual it has a reality all of its own, like a novel or a film or a religion. Rationally you know it's imaginary but your emotions still see it as real. I think at some stage a lot of Second Lifers find themselves pondering what exactly reality is.

It's perfectly possible to lead a double, triple or quadruple life WITHIN SL, using alts or even with just one acount, let alone between real life and SL!

Not really, i'm myself (character wise) as i am in RL. Same hobbies, same interrests, etc.
I only look different, and i have virtual restriction on what i can or cannot do inside this 3d environment.

But i stay human (appearance), no furr, or droid, or whatnot..
Keeping it realistic as possible, as i would in RL (except flying en teleporting).

Thank you everyone! I'm pleased to know it's something quite common and not just myself.

I signed out about an hour ago but there is no emoticon describing how I'm feeling right now but absolutely on fire would be an understatement. Maybe need a few days to recover and focus on something else.

Welcome to SL, alana.

Yes...the people who really "get" Second Life feel the same immersion that you do.

When I dream these days, mostly it's about SL.

/me is sad for Lindal . . .

Pep ( . . . but not surprised. )

I've been living a double life since long before SL was thought of.

I estimate prim counts on objects and builds I see in rl. And so want to right click on something to see the creator, description and how many Lindens it costs. Often when I drive past a rl area, I think to myself, gee, that looks just like (insert name of SL sim here). I see RL people that look like some avatar I know, in SL. I used to plan my rl activities around SL, but don't do that anymore, it was really affecting my rl. I've even taken off work to spend extra time on SL. Ugh, that's just too much 'immersion'. I've calmed it down some but still feel the pull, the addiction rising if I'm out for more than a day. A friend once told me "When I see that log in line, and waiting while SL is logging me in, it's like crack to the addict....." I know just what he means......good luck little newbie, and have fun.

Sounds like me exactly!!

SL can be what you make it. Just always remember, the emotions you feel here can be very real. The friends you make here can be very real. Just as real as anything in "real life". It will just depend on how close you allow yourself to get to people.

A word of warning, SL can be very very intense. Those real emotions can (and do) develop much faster than in the real world.

Honestly, just like in the real world. You WILL get your heart broke. You WILL have friends do you wrong. But you will also have friends treat you very well. You will meet people who become family.

I will give you the advice I always used to give newbies when I helped them.

1) Treat everyone as they are on screen. If their AV is a woman, they are a woman. If it is a man, they are a man. If it is a green three headed beagle, then they are a green 3 headed beagle. Once the friendship grows, you very well may find out different. But if you are really friends it won't matter.

2) Everyone you meet and talk to here is a real person. Treat them the way you would want to be treated.

3) There is no free lunch. Be careful. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.

No. I *do* very much know the difference between reality and a computer simulation/environment. (The failure there would = psychosis.)

So it is not a 'double life' in any sense of the word.

But I have thought about SL in a philosophical, anthropological, and even spiritual context, before.

To go into more depth I need to eat something first, though. Low blood sugar doesn't make for great clarity of 'deep thoughts.'

QFT!

Couldn't agree more. SL also changes very rapidly sometimes. I remember in my first month becoming attracted to visiting a certain dancer at a certain club. Club was located on the second floor of a large mall. First time I visited, made the newbee mistake of not saving a LM. Took me a couple days to find it again and then for about a week I would visit this club daily hoping to chat with my fav dancer.

Then one day I TPed over and landed in a big empty sim! Freaked me out. I think that was the first time I realized how hooked I was and just how volatile SL can be.

But don't get me wrong. I've been here 2 years and it is certainly one of the best Internet experiences I have had.

Wright

Most definately.
..and no, same as you.
My SL life IS my immersive fantasy and I embrace it fully. Even to the point of having to protect and defend it from other residents who don't see SL the same way. SL has helped immensely with being shy and also given me a platform to let some of my creative talents blossom. It's a very powerful and possibly liberating medium, but it's also not without dangers. Emotions develop quickly and the pain of that is very real, so be careful.

for me it's a bit of a reverse statement........when i first dabbled in sl 3/4 years ago it wasn't very pleasant, I got griefed, messed up my avi, got totally confused and my computer crash too many times. I gave up for a while and didn't give sl a second thought. Tried again a year or two later, with much the same result, only this time the people I met were crazy, demanding and slightly psychotic in their clinginess. Consequently I quit again for a while, with no real sl interest. More recently I have been more of an active participant. Though again the people I've met and become friends with all have some kind of rl problem/issue, or wish to become entangled with my rl. However the sl experience, the visual appeal and the endless sights and things to do are breath-taking. People are people, be it sl or rl, though unfortunately I have found that sl does bring out some 'weirdos', that tend to make my experience less wonderful. Sadly I tend to distance myself from the masses. Therefore there is no rl thoughts of sl, except in that world I can hide in my spanish finca, smoking weed in my underpants and listen to motorhead at full volume, while watching the sun go down and not be bothered. Thats what I look forward to at the end of a stressful rl day.

absolutely!

I now have two jobs one crazy busy RL and another as crazy SL job
Also i have four twitter accounts now, one for my personal RL one for my work RL and one for my personal SL and one for my work SL.


Quatruple life i'd say.

An alternative version:Assume everyone is lying and selfish until you have looked them in the eye in rl and even then expect to be let down.

Everyone you meet and talk to here is a figment of someone's imagination; treat them as if they are going to screw with your head in ways that you can not imagine.

There is no free lunch, but everything else is free in sl; you don't have to spend a penny here other than on your PC and net connection; and you can't lose it if you don't spend it.

Pep (Was leading a double life before he found sl. )

Not a double life but some things have merged over the years.

My SL partner is my RL one

I try to alt click pan when shopping on regular websites to get a better look at the backside of products.....annoying it doesnt work.

I actually have said LOL out loud in RL before.

When I moved house last time I found myself wishing I could shift click and take it all.

I find myself looking at houses and figuring out what prims are necessary to build them.

I often find myself wishing I could realign the textures in RL.

and on and on and on

Welcome to SL and the forums Alana - yes take it easy, SL is _very_ immersive. In time you get to balance it and even integrate it with RL. Just take some time out when it gets too much and come back refreshed when you are ready.

For me having an avatar was, and still is, an incredible avenue of self-exploration. I am still amazed how much I have learned about myself in SL. I spent the first year almost completely solitary, interacting with others only when necessary and making no friendships. And couldn't get enough of it. I created almost constantly and just being Imagin was enough for me. Heck, it was overwhelming at times! I am a passionate person in RL though.

Recently I have created my first alt, a near opposite of my main avatar, for a very specific type of roleplaying. Designed for interaction and fun. It's almost like experiencing the newness of SL all over again, but knowing what I know now developing the alt is so much faster and more satisfying. I am immersed all over again.

It just never gets old, it's too easy to change it when it does

Yeah, they should fix that! It really bugs me when it doesn't work.

Doesn't work on people's avatars in the forums, either.

And if it wasn't for that blasted vice detective he still would be.