SL Identity vs RL Identity

Hi Everyone,

I am new at this, so I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

I am studying identity development in SL, and I am looking for input from residents regarding these questions:

Is your SL identity more or less important than your RL identity?
Do you consider your SL identity a separate identity from your RL identity, or do you consider it to be just another facet of your overall identity?


If these questions seem intrusive, again, I apologize. I am not just being nosy; I am really interested in this topic.

I would appreciate any input from anyone, and thanks in advance!

yes and no to both questions and BTW we are running out of pigeon holes to place people in here.

Well, for me, the two questions are one. Max is an extension of the RL me. Personality wise, there is absolutely no difference. In terms of cheekbones, wardrobe, hair colour, the copious amounts of real estate and the ability to fly, the avatar has the marginal advantage.

In short, I don't have a distinct SL persona as such. So anyone who finds me an insufferable tosspiece in SL is likely to feel the same way in RL.

QFT

For my part, what's the point of having a second life if'n it's a carbon copy of the first?
RL comes first for me, but SL and RL definitely cross-fertilize each other.

I am not sure what you mean in this context by 'important'.

Important to me? No contest, my RL identity is more important to me than my SL one.

Important as in the sense of 'a Very Important Person' like more worthy or more influential? No, i haven't chosen to push my Avatar in that direction.... I don't run a sim, a club, a big business or any educational establishment, I don't participate in any major events or run anything. Imogen is just a resident.



Imogen is basically me, personality wise... Sometimes i feel more able to speak my mind, do wilder things, I tend to be more forthright here. But basically its just me with fewer constraints. I don't do anything here that i wouldn't do real life if i had fewer inhibitions...

not explaining this very well... /me scratches head and tries to think of a better way...

/me gives up and presses submit

imogen

As one of the few people I've run into who has filled out their First Life tab with real information and a photo it pains me to say I am more restrained in Second Life. Why? First Life doesn't allow me to be banned for saying things that violate a more restrictive speech code that exists in Second Life. The building tools in First Life are far more ample as are the choices of recreation. My imagination is truly free and much cheaper to execute in First Life, so it is far more important.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

me = me

only restrictions is personal info, so far only 2 people know who i am and a 3rd has partial info as she never asked but wouldn`t hesitate if she did

if understanding wrongly, meh
avi importance as in infom no, avi importance as in shape yes (if you get what i mean), i`ve taken alot of time creating her and i consider her more valuable then all my assets

Since Tarina has a business in SL, her own sim and many friends I would say yes she is just as important as RL Sabrina is with the same (replace sim with house mortgage)..

SL is the more playful silly me. I'm playful and silly in RL too, but it's mingled in with day to day normal living.

Physically, I am just as dazzling, of course.

Pics?

/me grins

Of course there is certain things I don't share but most of who and what I share here is bits and pieces of the truth and part of my real life self.
In real life I am not as friendly, I am whole lot more guarded, I don't look exactly like what my avatar looks like.
I am not role player, there is probably things I share sometimes many wouldn't but very few people here now how to reach me in real world or certain things about me.
Yet I accept that a lot of others would never share anything about their real life selves here and this is strictly a fantasy for them that is there right to do.
I personally not very good at doing that, SL just is extension of my RL these days because I am able to do a whole lot more here, then in RL due to illness,etc.

I have been digging at those sorts of questions for years now. Some do think that they have a seperate life, the whole what stays in SL, you know the rest.

I chose to enter SL as a design student, perhaps to make a bit of cash. I had no intentions to enter under the context of escasism. Many do, I can only talk about my own experiences here. I should also add that I am a university level graphic arts / multi media student. So things like SL are not that far off from my daily life. And I have always been honest with people inworld about who I am and why I am there.

I literally am my avatar. I had an old Poser skin made from myself a few years back. So of course SL was limited, but I downgraded the Poser skin to my own in SL. And cloned in my eyes, face, that sort. I wish I could actually be 5' 10'' in world, but the scale is too far off to build with. And I am always building something.

You can dig through my site if you like. www.adamjgillis.com there is a bit of press about my work in Secondlife. I think it may have been a bit difficult for me not to identify secondlife as an extention of my design work. And pretty dumb really. However I work in the graphic arts industry full time. So 3D web and animation experience will get me a real job, in most cases having a 2nd life will not benefit your career. In some cases it does, it was one of the smartest things I did. It has lead to many design contracts and several nominations and wins of very real design awards.

That'll teach him to get caught scalping Olympic Tickets

Weston is very much like "me" the guy behind the keyboard. When in human form I even sort of look like the RL guy, only much younger and with a six pack in my abs rather than in the refrigerator. The personality is the roughly the same. but the avatar is perhaps even more introverted than the real guy. I scarcely talk to anyone, although I do like people both in SL and RL.

My alt is very different. He looks different, acts professorial almost. Makes friends more easily and has a lot more dignity than Weston, and I'm almost jealous of him sometimes, weirdly.

These are not two different people like a split personality, just two different facets of the same RL person. As such, they/we are not as well rounded as the real life guy. So the real life identity is of course more important.

Besides, the coffee tastes better in real life.

I don't really know how to answer the first question and only sort of feel I know what you are wanting on the other question. My SL "existence" is not more important than RL. My identies are both different and the same. As Max said, my personality for the most part is just me -- I do find it a bit easier to be more social in SL, but the rest of my persona is not really any different. There are differences in the physical persona as it has been a few years since I had that figure in RL and my personal opinion is that I was never really that cute in RL. My SL experiences become of part of the RL me. My SL friends are a very important part of my life - some I would do everything in my power to help in RL if it was asked of me.

I always knew you were really hot, but ..................







I want to know if your cute ass really exists in RL?

Turn the picture sideways and find out.

My answer is the same as several others. My identity is my identity. I'm the same person in SL as I am in RL, only more pixelly. What you see is what you get, with all the good parts and all the flaws. It's what makes me, me, and I'm happy with that. I don't give out a ton of RL info, though. People know where I live approximately, so they know my time zone, and what I do for a living has come out. A few details of my personal life have escaped as I've gotten closer with my friends, but it would be tough to find me in RL. Only a couple people know my actual identity.

I just realized I sound like Clark Kent Mild mannered Trout Recreant sits behind a desk all day until trouble rears its ugly head, then he jumps into an elevator (because phone booths don't exist anymore) and emerges as TROUTMAN! Defender of...stuff.

I feel different when I am in SL and RL. SL is the side of me I allow everyone to see, RL people see it all. I think both are important. I'm Sarah in both lives.

Damnit - now I have to clean my monitor again.

This precious stone, set in a silvery sea,

That serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat, defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands.

This earth, this realm, this Caledon.

....

My SL self is an aspect of my RL self, but it's the RL person who pays th' bills.

So true, not many people fill out the 1st life bit, I have too and I have a RL photo, why, because I like my RL and yes its WAY more important that my SL.

My personality is much the same in SL as in RL, quite frankly I am me where ever I go, I don't find it easy to be anyone else, I just get to fly and check out different stuff in SL.

Personally I can not comprehend how SL can be better than RL but sadly for some people I guess it is.