Living 2 Lives

The appeal to be able to live a life outside of the one you already live in can be appealing, intoxicating, and limitless. The life we lead from day to day in the "real world" can seem ordinary and full of limits, including financial, geographical, physical. So, with a "Second Life" you are able to live more freely with only those boundaries you place upon yourself. In this virtual world, we are able to create ourselves as to who we feel like on the inside, and not who we appear to be on the outside. Not only are these physical characteristics, they are also inclusive of activities which we participate, locations we choose to live, and create, and worlds in which we wish we could live within. As Second Life becomes more real to those who participate, I am reminded of the movie Total Recall (1990). The premise of the movie is that there is the capability to implant memories into the brain. That you can have an experience of the mind, which is so real that you feel you have actually experienced this in reality. So, how is this like Second Life? Once emerced into this world, the experiences are real as far as the interaction with the media, however, it's not really you. The memories of the avatar's interactions, the learning, the feelings and the experiences are really happening to you through the avatar. This creates an attached feeling to the world, and to others within this world. The interactions with other avatars are simply pawns as interactions with you. However, in creating who you want to be, how "real" can it be? It's your alter you, just like many other avatars.

As a disruptive technology, the Second Life 3D world has created a major shift and focus within the technological world. The ability to interact through avatar and living space creation has changed the face of social networking. Never before have we been able to interact as human beings with our surroundings, other people and activities. A three dimensional world which we can create for our avatars to live in has the potential to shift the way in which we learn. Do I need to hire a tutor, or simply trade services with one through Second Life. Do I need to take a class in order to learn how to tile my bathroom, or can I find an avatar willing to teach me and show me, and allow me to experience these actions through my avatar, and with no fee for materials? This disruption, the type of experiential digital experience, has not replaced any other kind of technology. This is not an evolved process, this technology is now evolving into the type of technology which has the potential to change the way in which we live our lives...in the real world.