20-somethings and SecondLIfe

Very interesting thread going on among the blogs, about why young people don't like SecondLife

Alan Tan - 004: The Devil's Advocate
http://www.metanomics.net/07-aug-2008/004-devils-advocate

Prokofy Neva - Why The Kids Aren't Allright
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2008/08/why-the-kids-ar.html

Roland Legrand - How We Should Encourage Cheating Youngsters
http://twurl.nl/rtqsk3

Riven Homewood - Reply to Alan Tan [long]

Roflcopter Robonaught wrote:

> I do not wish to go out and find something to do, I have to do enough
>searching in the real world. I want to be entertained. Virtual worlds are
>supposed to be an escape from reality – Second Life is too close a parallel to
>the real thing.

Yes, I see your problem. SecondLife is all about finding something to do - it does not set up any entertainment or quest for you. You have to make your own. It appeals to creative people who like to build things and role play with their avatars. It appeals to people who like to make their own entertainment, rather than be entertained.

>As I have observed, the social dynamic that makes Second Life so
>disagreeable to myself is the underlying presence of a
> parent / teacer / >boss – child / student / employee relationship...
< I work for Cornell and... my avatar and behaviors are a reflection
> of my school and self...

Here again, we come back to SecondLife being what you make of it. If you are a student, a teacher, an employee or a boss in SecondLife, you will be in this relationship. If you choose to make your avatar a parent or a child, that is the relationship you will have.

This is why many people have multiple avatars for their multiple roles. The freedom to do this is part of what makes SecondLife so fascinating.

>During my earlier days in Second Life, I was chastised
> for having an avatar that was too other-worldly
[I'm told his avatar was a full-sized dragon]
> ...Additionally, I was also told not to disturb in-world meetings
> [by bursting] into dance while my supervisors were voice chatting.
> To be honest, receiving these reprimands made me feel childlike
> and inexperienced.

Sorry, that's because you were acting inappropriately for the role your avatar was in. Yes, one might say you were behaving in a childlike manner, in a way that showed your inexperience with both sl and rl expectations about professional behavior. That's all part of growing up. :-)

I've been to meetings on sl where we danced and chatted at the same time - it's a matter of what your organization thinks is appropriate. There are "dress codes" for appropriate avatars in various sl situations, just as there are expectations for appropriate dress and behavior in rl situations -- or in other virtual worlds such as World Of Warcraft or Everquest. If you choose to show up looking somewhat unusual and behave in a different fashion from those around you,you
are defining your avatar as an eccentric person. Might be good, might not be acceptable. This is one place where alternative avatars come in very handy.

Thanks for a very thought-provoking post! My guess is that in the future you may find sl more interesting - perhaps once the grapics catch up to what you have found in other games that don't do real-time animation, perhaps once you have sufficient life experience to value creating rather than being entertained. I've had the same experience you have of finding it's easier to plan a collaborative project on Skype - but in my case, having "met" the person on sl first was what made it easier for me. If you don't get the "talking to a bunch of ghosts" feeling online, then perhaps you don't need virtual worlds at all. You've given me a lot to think about.