Online Interaction

It is easy to see first hand how the developments in communication through Internet have developed over the years. The industry has flourished in recent years as people are constantly looking for new ways create social interaction via the Internet. Perhaps one of the largest social networking sites in the world is Second Life. This website allows people to create an avatar and essentially a new identity, which will allow them to explore the virtual world of Second Life. However, like anything in real life it has its ups and downs. Second Life was created with the intention of making people more social by interacting with people online; however, some may argue that it has done the opposite of that for many people.

Perhaps one of the most interesting portrayals of the daily routine of a Second Life user is seen in the documentary “Life 2.0.” This documentary focuses on the life of three different people with completely different lives. These people are using Second Life for different reasons, however, what is clear is that they soon become completely addicted to it. This tends to be the concern for so many people when it comes down to whether or not social networks are good or bad. There is a real concern that people will become more and more connected to the virtual world and slowly start to forget the real one.

 There seems to be a certain fascination with Second Life, which makes it different from other Social Networking sites.  For one, this may have to do with the heavily interactive element that is involved with Second Life, making it different from Facebook or Instagram.  Second Life is actually more like a game making it more comparable to World of Warcraft or Runescape. While WoW and Runescape are games which more heavily targeted at children or young adults, Second Life has a very similar concept, which is the creation of a virtual world in which thousands maybe millions of users can interact. Interestingly enough these games share the same addictive qualities as Second Life.

The documentary shows how Second Life really becomes the most important part of these people’s lives. One of the people being followed fell in love with a man in Second Life, which later became a real affair. Another example showed a woman who ran a business from the comfort of her basement through Second Life, posing as a fashion designer. The last example showed a man who was posing as an eleven-year-old girl. This man in particular becomes addicted to the point were he neglects the closest people around him.

This particular documentary shows a very negative perspective on Second Life as the three people being followed display characteristics of people who are emotionally unstable and somewhat depressed. These people turned to Second Life as an escape from the real world. However, they soon realized that Second Life was nothing more than an imaginary game. People will often delude themselves into thinking that it is real life, possibly because they are not satisfied with there real lives. However, it is unfair to say that the impact of Second Life is purely negative, as many people with disabilities are able to interact with many people because of the it. However, it is important for people to understand the difference between the real world and virtual world.