DEVS Blog On Internet Culture

I downloaded the Second Life program and created an avatar to roam the virtual world of SL.  I visited an Irish pub, an island celebrating Mardi Gras, and a trance dance floor called Zapp.  At the Irish Pub I hung out at the bar and watched the other avatars “drink” their “drinks”.  I edited my profile, which let the SL world know that I am a student at Santa Clara University.  I named my avatar “HungryPandaMonk”, because the avatar is a panda and I couldn’t find him any food that he could eat.  Therefore, I left the bar and transported my panda self to a beach island.  There I had conversations with a few strangers and felt strange.  They were from all over the world including: Mexico, Costa Rica, London, the Mid West in the United States, and somewhere in Asia (I couldn’t read the chat writing).  Well, the various ethnicities I encountered there did not make me feel awkward, but the conversation did or I guess what was actually going on within SL.  I could see all the other avatars roaming the island, sitting on beach chairs, flying, and what not, but I couldn’t help but imagine all of the people sitting behind their computer screens in a room having their social-lives entertained by playing the SL game. I wondered if the SL players ever got out of their homes and attempted to communicate with people outside of their SL lives.  I wondered what purposes brought these people to play the game and socialize in virtual reality.  Do they have socialization issues? Are they just bored? Do they have controlling parents/ or partners? Are they afraid to step out of their homes? etc… Well, I know I may never know the truth, and I am sure that people sign into SL for various reasons.  I asked people in SL why they enjoyed SL, and all of their answers seemed the same: “To meet people” or “Because I’m bored” or “It’s fun.”  I guess, that’s the reason why people go out in reality also.  I then transported myself to a trance dance floor where I taught my panda to dance.  People kept on commenting in the public chat: “I’m having so much fun!”, “Trance Rules”, and the such.  SL is the place, I guess, if you can’t get out of the house.  However, I prefer to dance to trance in the real world.