Week 6 - Reactions and Real Life to Second Life Behaviors

This is going to be my second to final week in my blog postings for this amazingly fun research project! This week’s post is not going to be as large as the past ones, but it is still valuable information.

In this week’s installment, I am going to be covering how people react to when I tell them I am researching Second Life for my Universities class project. I am also going to cover a little bit of how people on SL show similar behaviors to that of a real life.

I was expecting a very wide range of responses to when I told them about my research project, and I expected many questions. Here are the results from a few people said.

The message I sent out in private messages:

“Hey there! My name is Mike and I'm a student at DeVry University. I’m currently doing a research project on Second Life for my Emerging Technologies class. I was just wondering if you had any comments for me!”

1. The first 4 people I sent this to, completely ignored it and never responded. These were people who were ACTIVELY TALKING on microphones in a public setting.

2. Veleska: Second Life is a virtual environment that allows resident's to be who they want to be, where they want to be and when. It allows expression and choice's not commonly made in real life. Want to be some furry animal, and let your beast rage? Go for it! Want to be a stay at home mom during the day and a stripper at night and never have to work in rl again, you can do that too. If I thought for one minute years ago that I'd be spending my time in a virtual world I would have thought you were crazy, but truth be told, everything is at your fingers . A click away, and that's how life should be. So quit your day jobs folks! 3D IS THE WAY TO GO!!!

3. Baloo (eln.alter): Isn’t that some kind of sex game?

4. Aeson Amat: I’m afraid I'm do not know your study, so no comments.

5. GGH (goldy.southpaw): It's not what you think it is.

6. Cinda Valentino: this place is a petri dish for social research. Not to mention there are some sick individuals in here. It’s becoming more and more difficult to avoid them, the more people come in.

For my last topic this week, I’ll be talking about behaviors. People express so many different types of the behaviors, it’s just like real life. People’s behaviors in the real world are very reflective of the world and area around them. Unfortunately, in the online world, anyone can do, say, or be anyone they want. What is strange is that people can become the complete opposite of what they are in real life, and no one will ever know… unless extensive research and time is taken to find out. People can spread lies, rumors, and even horrible stories that are not truth. This applies to real life… but what is different is that people do not care as much as they do in real life about repercussions…. But at the same time, people will react the same way as if it were being spread in their real lives. I’ve seen people quit the game completely, I’ve seen people converge on a person or group of people because of how they act or what other people have said about them (usually bad things), and I’ve even seen people do malicious things to themselves and others in real life AND Second Life. 

Being mean, nasty, and evil are not the only behaviors that take place in the game. People are also very kind, generous, and even very helpful when you do not ever expect them to be. People want to be whom they want, and for many people, this is their real self. Just like in the real world, people come in all types of forms on Second Life. This world can be a very bright one, but at the same time, a very dark one.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read through my blog up to this point. I will be giving a general summary and collection of thoughts in my final blog post next week, so please stick around!