Is SL holding people back?

(a bit tongue-in-cheek, but also a bit serious)

Does SL hold people back? Or not SL exclusively, but all 3d virtual immersive worlds?

Generally speaking... do people skip a night out so they can stay in and 'play' SL? Or give up a day with friends, or hanging out with the family, so they can be with friends in SL? Or even, drop other hobbies or RL endeavors, to build or create stuff in SL? (Why spend time and money making a mess and getting my hands dirty to build/make something in RL when I can do it cheaper and more effectively in SL?)

Personal experience: I was in SL daily without exception from December 2006 through May 2008. Sometimes up to 8+ hours a day. Since I drastically reduced my SL time, I've developed interest in 2 new RL hobbies and rekindled interest in a 3rd RL hobby. I'm still here obviously, so my free-time is now divided among 4 different diversions.

Anyhow.. so that's the question. Is SL holding people back?

-Atashi

While it kept you from somethings it did not "hold you back" in that you did enjoy or you would not have been here. Those same things could be said to hold you back from something else. that said however, there are always extremes where folks a tad to preoccupied with sl may ignore or forego important things- family things- job, house what ever. That is not SL's fault - that wd be an addiction like drugs or alcohol or gambling. Yes it can be addictive- but we each are responsible for how far we travel down that road.

It can hold people back. It can also open people to art, social activities, creativity and cultures , among other things, that they might otherwise never have access to.

SL is a tool. How you use it is up to you.

The only thing holding people back from anything is themselves. People make their own choices, whether to blow something RL off for a day or night in SL or vise versa, this also applies in anything RL/SL.

Hmm....there are other hobbies that I used to enjoy. I used to crochet some of the coolest amigurami things and participate in fun swaps on craftster.org. I used to create ATC's and paint, I'm crafty like that....however, SL is to me another one of those artsy fartsy things that I enjoy. Before SL there was the Sims2. I very much enjoyed creating content for that game. I'm a little ADD though. I get hooked on things for varying amounts of time and then all of a sudden there's another shiny bauble catching my attention. This has a lot to do with my attraction to SL though. If I get tired of building objects, I can create clothing or jewelry. I'd love to build a house...I have yet to do that or I could write a script, the possibilities within SL are almost endless.

But I don't skip nights out oh hell no.

OR GETTING LAID either Mr. "are people holding SL back".

What exactly makes SL different from a night out?

I'm very introverted. That's not a disease in and of itself other than by having to put up with people trying to "cure" us. What it means is we need to have time away from people to recharge our resources. We introverts are outnumbered about 4 to 1 I hear, and the more extreme examples more like 10 to 1. The majority are the other way and MUST be around people and expect us to need that too.

My real life day job has been for the last two years pretty excruciating for me because I'm the voice of a large department at a large university and I have people calling me about every minute and a half with dire emergencies they think only I can fix. When I get home, I don't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. Sometimes I even unplug the phone.

Second Life is my way of shutting out the noisy needy real world and focusing just on the beauty others have created rather than the neediness. It may also explain why I scarcely talk to anyone in world, though this is gradually improving as my RL job is slowly being phased out and I'm allowed to move into a lot less stress.

If it wasn't SL, it would be something else. So no - it's not holding me back. My ill suited job is.

Pics or it didn't happen.

In RL they don't disappear as easily after sex. It sometimes takes years.....

They wouldn't in sl either if you didn't keep orbiting them.

Well I choose to own Oahu and live in a world of peace. Nothing holding that back but me right?

Only in the deepest karmic sense.

Yeah , well.......

Brilliant!

I don't sometimes it does seem that way and one could blame LL for it especially when you're so frozen from lag or the building tools decide to quit working properly and you can't change the z position of prim or what not.
Or a neighbor can move into sim drain the resources of every user near by.
They did design the system that does this, did they not?
Yet I guess in long run there is good things one can experience too that we created, spent hard earned money to maintain and we often do it with very little rewards and whole lot of lag.

We're not suppose to do that?

hmm - who knew?




I am very introverted RL and have spent a lifetime avoiding a lot of "going out" situations. I used to sit on the couch and read more, watch a bit more TV. Now I sit in front of the computer more and have a blast in SL. The neatest part of it is that I am actually not so introverted inworld now -- some at the Hangout would probably even dispute that I'm introverted at with as much as I chat there. Who knows, maybe someday that will carry over a bit more into my RL.

Yes but they are getting better drugs for STD's all the time...

At times SL has pushed aside RL jobs - usually when I've thought of something I just have to make to see what it looks like. Mostly SL has just replaced other, more boring computer activity.

I try to keep a policy of "First Life first", and have skipped several SL events for RL ones. My friends here understand, I hope that sometimes it has to be that way. Or maybe they're just glad to see the back of me for a while?

In the early days I missed a few night's sleep for SL, but never RL work or socialising. I maybe turned up a bit bleary-eyed as a result, once or twice.

Far from holding me back, SL has pushed me forward. I've always been shy and introverted, and even diagnosed with a degree of social anxiety disorder. For a while it gave me a bit of a safe zone where I could experiment and let myself of the leash a bit. I reckon it's done wonders for my confidence. I can see how it could become too much of a crutch for some people, but not here.

Yes.

Held back in the most enjoyable way possible, though, I might add.

Next question?

My premium fee and monthly tier costs less than one night of RL clubbing

I still go out to dinner, a movie, etc. once in a while, but I kinda like to be at home too SL is holding me back from vegging in front of the TV tho

SL is just one of the things I do for entertainment, but it doesn't have any sort of priority over the others. It all depends on my mood, and whether I feel like sitting in front of the computer for an hour or two straight, which admittedly, I am becoming less inclined.I guess it' why I post so much in the forum, I can leave it up, and go do stuff in the house or watch a movie,and check back every so often. I did have the period most of us went through, where we are sucked in by SL, but it has passed. It's now a pleasannt diversion, that I enjoy immensely when I do log in.

That's strange my SL trip starts Oct 06 and almost exactly mirrors yours.I was very bored with my RL business at that time, same deal for 19 years.I work every evening in the tourist industry,and have good staff,so I have developed the habit of retreating to my office and staying there,LOL.
I sometimes stay up all night,RL suffered true but who cares?I pop downstairs for a chat and a drink sometimes just to make an appearance. My liver has never been so healthy although I have sores on my arse.I also now do all in house publishing and save a fortune.So for me it's swings and roundabouts.
That said when I do go to my local for a yarn or two,I steer clear of SL as a subject.The sight of a dozen pairs of eyes glazing over and constant yawning, demand it.

The strange thing I find about SL is that the novelty doesn't wear off, even after 2 years. Sure, there are days when it all seems a but flat, but that's not many.

When I first came to SL it was out of curiosity, having seen a feature about it on TV.
I was also mindful of computer games addiction, having seen people I know become addicted to games (not SL). I liked SL from the start and deliberately immersed myself to try and see if I could begin to understand games addiction. Very soon I was hooked. But as I said earlier in this post, SL has really only replaced other less 'fun' computer activities for me. I'd played other games before, and even though I might have spent quite a bit of time on them I was nowhere near addiction. I'm not sure that's the case with SL.

Kind of like working your life away for some Corp. that treats people like garbage =/ that holds people back

SL has expanded and pushed my RL life forward:

1. Sharing SL with my husband has completely renovated and refreshed my marriage of 20 yrs because playing together here let us meet each other all over again.

2. Learning how to use the various tools here encouraged me to buy and learn how to use: Maya, DreamWeaver, Photoshop and Adobe Premier.

3. Learning simple franken scripting introduced me, primarily a visual artist, to the joys of programming...something I would never have experienced in any other way.

4. Leaving the cocoon of my rarefied artistic RL experience exposed me to opinions, discussions and activities that I would never otherwise experienced. I have become more tolerant while at the same time more sure about what I think and the values I hold.

5. Attempting machinima has given me an outlet for my RL career in another medium...a magical world that overwhelms me with its story telling possibilities.

6. Freed me from the TV and vegging out to an active creative home based recreation.

Like they say, where ever you go, there you are!