SL Identity vs RL Identity

Are you kidding? There are so many ways that SL is better than RL:

- I can fly
- I can buy an absolutely beautiful formal gown for < $5 real money
- By belonging to the right groups, I can get approx. 250 absolutely fabulous dresses for roughly $1 real money
- I can change outfits in about 30 seconds and do not have to go home to do it (though it may be safer going home due to SL general bork issues)
- I can change my hair style and color constantly
- I can teleport places
- I can have conversations with all sort of critters
- I can become a critter with just a few mouse clicks
- I can repaint and refurnish my entire house in just a few minutes and for only a few dollars
- I have the fabulous figure from my early 30s back and I will not lose it here unless I want to, and even then I can get it back instantly rather than via starvation and physical tortue.

I'm sure there are many more way cool things that are not coming to the top of my mind right now.

The question I originally answered had to do with what was more 'important', not which was better.

Ok swtich 'better' for "more important" my answer remains the same

You forgot, you can maintain and awesome figure in SL and don't have to spend a single minute working out.

My identity is the same on both sides of the screen, but different facets of my personality will show more depending on who I am logged in as. Kinda like how I show different facets of myself depending on the RL situation I am in (with family, at work etc).

I can honestly say though, that the people who get to know me well in SL, probably know the real me better than the people I have around me in RL.

I don't have just one sl identity. My main avatar is quite multifaceted and shows different personality traits depending on her appearance, and I also have an alt who has a different personality again. I consider all these different traits to be aspects of my rl personality.

My rl identity is of course more important than any sl identity I assume, but I would miss those parts of me that sl has allowed me to develop. For example, I recently had to present at a rl meeting of very important people and was nervous as hell. Walking towards the meeting room, I found myself thinking "right, walk like spin" and so I walked into the meeting with my head up and at least the appearance of self-confidence. My rl dress sense has also got a bit more adventurous since I have been in sl. I think I am a little bit less self-conscious about my body than I was and am having fun dressing up a bit, which has also boosted my confidence.

Qie talks pretty much like his human, but is otherwise a purely fictional character. These two identities are so completely separate that "which is more important" is an almost meaningless question. Practically, of course, Qie couldn't exist without his human whereas the opposite is obviously not true, but at the level of the question's presumed intent: they're just not related enough to be comparable.

But none of that is why I hit the "Reply" button.

On the premise that "studying identity development" is for some serious pursuit, I'm compelled to mention that LL recognizes that SL residents have very different expectations about this. They're currently researching approaches to supporting (emphatically *not* requiring) residents to selectively share more RL identity information (including avatars based on RL photos of the resident), so presumably a significant demand for that has been expressed. I'd suppose that this is at least in part to support purely RL business use of SL, but perhaps some of the residents who use SL as a kind of "3D match.com" would also be interested.

I am just like 2k in RL.

I'm really a reptile in RL. Y'know... one of those monsters David Icke keeps on raving about. I had a go at RP'ing as a human for a while when I joined SL but never really got the hang of it.

Warts and all, Cherry is my personality. Appearance? No ... sadly not though the eyes, hair are generally fairly accurate. My old av did look a bit like me but also managed to look vaguely Chinese so that didn't work. My new av ... I don't like the face.

IRC and other ways to chat, phones etc - I considered SL mainly a chat program when I started. However, there's knock on effects both ways - there's a reason Cherry has such pertness where her operator doesn't, but that's why I have fruit and water on my desk right now instead of coffee and biccies like everyone else in the office.

There's aspects of myself I don't like which I am changing, and in some ways acheivements in a virtual world have spurred me on to try things in the real world which seemed beyond even imagination.

SL Identity < RL Identity
SL identity is a subset of RL identity. Because it is a subset, it must therefore be a part of my RL identity. It must be because I play second life in real life.

I consider my SL and RL identities interchangable for my main ava, the one whose name appears next to this post. I blog, create art and do other thigns as Ghosty Kips.

I also have a Hindi avatar (those in the know are chuckling now) named Vishnu Muhindra, and as Krishna said, "I am from you, and you are from me, and no man can tell the difference between us." In that Eastern set of sensibilities, Vishnu's idenity and mine are also interchangeable.

I have a female alt who does not share this kinship. She is there not only for privacy, but for roleplay (and has a very different personality than I do as well). She talks to quite a few people and so far, no one has yet accused her of being played by a male - which means I'm doing a fairly good job with her, IMHO. All of two people know her secret identity (i.e., me).

I have a fourth male avatar who is specifically for my pursuits as an SL race driver. He may very well be my Racer X, as no one knows who he is and I may keep it that way.

So, it depends on the ava I suppose. Just shows to go ya.

SL identity is far less important than RL identity.
SL identity is an aspect of my RL id

While fascinating to me personally who has no vested interest in the topic but love to know my fellow forumites.. I may point out guys- this is just another one of the endless "help me with my research project" things.. who knew? - SL a breeding ground for guinea pigs.. oy!

Yes, I thought about this too. It's just somehow more satisfying to go blah about myself in a forum post than to go to an external site and have to shoehorn my responses into a series of tick-box options.

Same. I avoid the surveys like the plague, but this request was worded nicely and allowed full rein to anyone to respond in the manner of their choosing.

Whether it's more guinea pigging or not, I care not. It was actually a question I don't mind answering.

My RL identity and SL identies are completely seperate from one another. I do not disclose my RL information beyond the fact that my Player is married in RL and does not, ever, date people met on-line. SL is not a place for me to meet people I want to hook up with in RL. It is a place to be creative and to have fun.

All my Avatars are fictional characters. While they may reflect some aspects of my personality, my RL self is certainly not a 700 year old mage and shapeshifter whose true form is a three-tailed Kitsune! Yet Ceera is a consistent character identity who has existed in various venues for more than 8 years, and is quite valuable to me.

Asking which is more important is sort of like asking George Lucas whether his RL identity is more important than Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Jabba the Hutt, or Han Solo... The reality is certainly more important than his fictional characters from Star Wars, yet each fictional identity also has a value in itself.

I created one alt that looks pretty much like the "Real Me". And found I had virtually no interest in using that avatar in Second Life. If I want to just be me, I have reality for that. I use SL to be what I can NOT be in RL - a perpetually young furry anthro with amazing abilities...

My SL identity is no less important to me than my RL identity. Why? Because it is me in a cartoon form...but still me and what happens to me inworld, is felt in RL with full force. Therefore there is no separation...what I do is what I do, and since it all has been my choice I have to stand behind my choices. I'm the one who gives life to my ava, who looks like me as much as I could do it without turning it to an exact copy... I could, but it is more fun to look a bit younger...

Pssst. I've gnawed through the cage mesh. Pass the word...we make our break at midnight!

Alas, the curse of being a professional student – everything is a research project. I do, however, truly appreciate everyone’s input. I am not conducting a survey, but just trying to get a feel for how the concept of identity is viewed in SL. There has been debate on other forums about whether or not SL identities should be considered as authentic as those created in RL. That got me to thinking . . . but then again, just about everything I encounter gets me to thinking. . . .

Hang around Second Life long enough and we'll cure you of that "thinking" affliction you have.

hard to say sometimes. Maggie(sl persona)has a killer wardrobe, better body, is more outgoing, and mouthier than the "me" behind the keyboard. But All in all, the me who controls Maggie is way more important, as she's the one who pays Maggie's bills !

My SL Identity is merely an extension of my RL Identity, but one with more options and fewer problems (except perhaps time she exists in world)

I can be a little more free in SL then is strictly allowed in RL (less social reprecussions)

I see little difference, and think of my SL identify as an extension of myself. This is my very first 3d virtual world and I think - hope - being myself instead of a distanced puppet has helped me keep my consideration for others.



My SL identify is openly part of the BDSM community, unlike RL. I feel I am able to freely express my more niche and - in RL - misunderstood interests.

A facet then, but not seperate!