The Balance Between Second Life and Real Life

SL is an escape from real life in many ways, a place where you can be whoever you choose, and do whatever you like. The appeal is undeniable, and there are an awful lot of folk about who feel the need to be part of a fantasy landscape rather than spending all their time in reality. Have you ever found the lines blurring? Do you sometimes forget what’s real and what’s SL? Or maybe you’re one of those fortunate souls who has successfully transferred an online relationship into a real-world friendship.

Meeting people in SL

With such a popular platform, there are literally millions of people that you could potentially make connections with. For a lot of players, drawing a line between SL and reality is how they feel most comfortable to be able to operate. But you never know when you might meet someone with whom you make a strong connection, and wish to spend time with outside the SLworld. It’s been known for weddings to have followed an introduction via SL, so there are some real fairy stories being born of the virtual world.

Keeping safe online

While you might feel like you’re getting to know someone really well online, never forget that until you see them for real, you can’t be sure if the relationship is one that can survive and flourish in reality. The basic rules of contacting people online apply here, so don’t share potentially sensitive or security-related personal data, including your location. You don’t want strangers turning up on your doorstep looking for the real-life version of your avatar! It’s inconvenient for a start, and there could be a danger if the person has malicious intentions. If you do wish to meet, make sure you’re in a public space, and you have a friend or two at the end of the phone who can help if you experience any problems. You also need to keep your IT systems safe from hackers and check who has access to your cloud-based files and information.

Who is behind the avatar?

A big part of the allure of SL is the fact that you can create whatever personality and physical appearance you like for your online persona. If you’re not like your avatar, it follows that most other players aren’t much like their avatars either. So you might find you’ve got an image of a perfect person in your mind, only to discover they are nothing like their real-life selves. That doesn’t mean you should make judgments on people, because getting to know someone and hitting it off is a wonderful thing, and should never be based solely on appearance. If you’ve spent enough time talking and interacting online, you should find you are suited to being friends in real life, and this could be a great way of meeting people who clearly have similar interests to you.

Second Life isn’t real life, and that’s what gives people the freedom and escapism to enjoy it so much. Transferring to real life can be a way to build up relationships with people you may not otherwise meet, so don’t be afraid to give it a go – just put your security first and try not to be too disappointed if it doesn’t work out.