SL vs FL

I'm truly wondering.. how many people are like me, and care more about their Second Life than their First?
I mean.. I've spent less than two months here, and already I'd much rather spend time in SL than my FL, and feel closer to people in SL than I do in my FL... I wish I could switch the two.. I'm living the life Iw ant in SL, while stuck with the life I *have* in my FL...

How many people feel like SL is more their FL?

(And yeah, I know, I'm a dork)

No. Not by a long Shot. For me it's an entertaining diversion. I'm happy to have made the friends I have, but it still has to be kept in perspective. RL comes before SL every time for me.

The novelty will wear off.

I think this is one of the dangers of online worlds. When you begin to think of your digital existence as being more fulfilling than your real life...then it's time to take a step back and analyze.

Second Life (and all other digital entertainment) is just that…entertainment. It’s a temporary escape from a real life filled with a gamut of emotion (both good and bad). Regardless the pain involved with your real life, I think the want to Alt-F4 your real life and make a permanent switch isn’t healthy.

I hope my honesty and forthcoming answer is acceptable. I figure if you post such a serious thread like this…you deserve a serious answer.

Buck up. Life is beautiful.

I don't have a RL anymore (or FL, or whatever you want to call it). When your hobby becomes your job, it's all over.

I don't mean novelty, I mean that it is what I do... not an addiction, but I live my life through SL. I have always been more computer-bound than most, and love the virtual world, but SL has become my Life. I could see myself growing old and living in the SL world for the rest of my life, and I could be happy. If I needed something, just create it.... that cannot get old for me.. I've been a 3d artist for years (Not amazing though) and what I love about it is that I can create whatever I want to, whatever I see in my mind.. now I've found this world, this Life that provides the ability to do just that, always, forever..

And if the 'novelty' does eventually wear off.... It would still be a better Life for me than my FL I believe... its more suited to me... I don't want to be told that I'll lose faith in this Life, because well... it is my Life... for now, and as far as I can see into the future, forever, unless something horrible happens...

Thats the kind of answer I like.. I want absolutely serious, thoughtful answers...

I understand what you mean, but... why does it have to stay just entertainment? This world has been created, and the want to live in it can be as sane as anything else, can't it? As long as I'm not abandoning a full FL with everything I could want... I don't see how its really unhealthy.. maybe I'm just odd though, I don't know

If I could find a job in SL that provided enough to live off of in RL (Home, food, netz, tier and such), I don't think I would log out but to sleep... I can eat at my desk, and everybody I care about is there, in this WOrld

If you think the joy of exploration in Second Life is exciting...think about all the things to see in real life...real life is infinitely larger and more beautiful. Computers can't quite recreate the universe yet ...and they certainly can't recreate the touch of a warm body, the alluring scent of a woman, or the feeling of joy one gets looking in the eyes of a loved one and seeing them smile.

Second Life wishes it was First Life...

SL is not just another virtual world. It is not simply a temporary escape. I do agree that it's not healthy to want to sacrifice your RL for SL. However...

Before I joined SL, I was playing WoW. After a year of WoW, I had to sit back and think about what I accomplished. Nothing really. It had a beneficial affect on one RL friendship and a detrimental effect on numerous other relationships. I gained no new skills nor did I earn any money. Thinking back on the time I spent in WoW, I felt sad and empty about the time lost, even though I did enjoy many of my experiences there.

Then I joined SL, I made some good friends, at least some of them are RL friends now. I made a lot of positive changes to my life, gained new skills, created a lot of things of which I'm proud, and built a nice online business for myself.

SL can be just an entertainment I suppose, and it can be a negative experience as well, but there are tons of ways that SL can be much more than entertainment with many positive benefits to someone's RL.

However, I think we can all agree that SL is better than FL. And by FL I mean Florida.

Okiphia, I hear what you say, but there are some dangers to investing too much of yourself in SL.

For example, what would happen if Linden Lab were to suddenly announce they are closing SL?

Of the people you meet, many are not taking SL as seriously as you are - they could be very cavalier with your emotions, not realising that you have so very much of your soul in the world. I had one person, who I thought was a very good friend, disappear completely from SL with no warning. It didn't occur to them to come in and let me know. I got quite hurt by that.

Just be careful not to get hurt too badly, ok?

Enjoy your Second Life, for it is truly full of wonderful things and wonderful people

Technology will only get better, though..lol

What I mean is like.. yeah, all thats great... RL has tons more to offer on the side of how things look, and feel... but if I could mesh the two.. like.. in SL I have a Mistress, and 2 sisters and a brother, whom I love, truly... if I could live with them in RL as well as SL I would give anything to, it would provide both worlds, and in SL I could remain me, while in my FL I could still be with them, and touch and see and kiss and hold and eat with them (Didnt expect eat did ya? =P) If I could choose certain aspects... I would choose the world and capabilities of SL with the graphics capability and sensory input/output of FL

I'll be back in this discussion later, going to be otside of capable of posting for a while... I'll find this thread if I have to, to read and discuss

I'm sorry, but that just frightens me. But if SL does bring you that much joy, over an empty real life,good for you. Everyone deserves happiness no matter where they find it.. Good Luck.

I been playing in various online games for over 10 years and learning to build and animate in 3d also for much of that time ..

I started with various flight sim's Janes Longbow Apache then Half-Life in '98 ..

Then discovered Lightwave 3d .. outgrew that and moved onto Maya via 3dsm ..

Only last year did I discover Secondlife ..

I had gotten tired of making freinds online only to ever face them down the barrel of a gun.

It was great to walk around and meet with people and not worry who was gonna' draw first

Oh yeah .. teh question .??. To be honest I use SL as an escape from the FL ..

But I love the 1.5 Life more than either ..

in Maya .. I have no critters knocking on my door to see if I wanna change energy supplies .. no one koocking to teach me teh way of "insert deity here" .. and no bloomin' IM's when all I wann do is push pixels.

First Life .. BAH !!

Technology will never be able to recreate real life completely--even the Holodeck in Star Trek isn't truly feasible--and still it doesn't compare to the real world.

It is dangerous for you to think that the situations you envelope yourself in in Second Life will translate successfully to real life. You may think because you enjoy something in SL, or that it works there, that it will work for you in RL--and I promise you disappointment is on the horizon.

Second Life is safer than RL on so many levels--physically, emotionally, and financially. Relationships, business ventures, and meeting new people may work in one realm, but not in the other.

Gnothi seauton is Greek for 'know thyself.' And sometimes we ask for things that don't suit us, because the theory or idea is attractive. I do not think the majority of us would last long if there was a spacial switch between SL and RL.

Much as I find SL a fun diversion, I need human face to face interaction, body contact, to see and smell the people I'm involved with - let alone the world I'm dealing with.

/me needs fresh air!

my SL did become my RL

I met my soulmate in SL, we are now married in RL

so I can be in SL with him, and RL with him

RL is SOOOOO much better

we rarely interact in SL anymore and since I made the move to be with him in RL, SL doesn't have the same allure it used to

maybe you are looking for something and when you find it, and it becomes part of your RL, then SL will fade a little for you

Woot Rhaorth WTG .. so nice when that happens .. I wish you both all teh best luck in teh worlds.
Kudos.

I agree with Michael on this one! I "play" on SL with my RL husband, so maybe it's easy for me to say that RL is much, much better than SL. I, too, look at SL as amusement, although when I first became a resident, I was on every single night after the kids went to bed, as like you, I was fascinated with everything! I still enjoy my time on there, but it's less because school has started, work is getting busier, my husband isn't on as much....RL always takes precedent. I think that it's dangerous to have everyone and everything you care about only on SL, and none in RL. SL is not "real"..ultimately, it's a business and a platform...which means that it's existence could cease and what would you have to show for it? Real life, the real world should be explored and experienced much more than SL. SL is based on imagination only, on precarious intangibles. I don't know how old you really are, your circumstances or anything about you, but I think you might find more happiness if you step away from the computer sometimes....get out, take a walk, look around and breathe deeply. See what's around you....look at details on RL buildings, smell RL flowers, hear RL birds singing and wind blowing. It's waaaaaay better than a computer generated world any day!
Good luck!

The greatest thing about SL for me is that it has taught me valuable lessons about what I can do if I put my mind to it. My RL has changed since coming to SL, because I realized that anything really is possible. SL is not a made-up imaginary place. You navigate through a real society. So anything you can do here, you can do in the physical world.

Baudrillard says that virtual worlds may even be MORE real than the physical world. He's speaking of the deception of symbols in RL, but still, once you overcome the hurdle of deception (and our skills at this are even enhanced after the SL experience), RL is yours to master just as much as SL.

I honestly don't separate the two if I can help it. SL is part of RL. So is flyfishing, travelling around, friends, family and the %@*#& Seattle Mariners (and Seahawks). Friends here are like RL friends whom I can't see all the time. You wouldn't abandon my job or my other experiences and think only about fishing any more than I would about SL. It's all part of leading a balanced life. You have to keep everything in perspective. If SL gives you joy, pursue it, but be very careful about letting your other experiences suffer.

It's like candy. It's fine to eat some, but if you eat it three meals a day, you'll get sick. You need a balanced diet to stay healthy.

Woohoooo, so nice to hear a happy ending!

Thanks guys

not saying it happens for everyone

I am one of the lucky ones, and the funny part is I was not looking
I was enjoying SL for the fun and entertainment, then I met him
and it alllll changed heh

I was once told that when you meet your soulmate you will know it, nothing will stop you from being together

and that is sooooo true in my case

SL truly is what you make it (each and every one of us)

QFT - my point exactly. You just said it more clearly and succinctly.