Anonymous: I play in Second Life as Creed Archer, and I wonder if voice technology will change the comfort level for many who prefer texting. Real voice crosses a new line of personal involvement.
Jessica Bennett: You make a good point. It’s psychologically proven that people open up more online—largely a result of that anonymity factor—and voice technology could certainly change that. At the same time, I imagine that, like IMing or chatting on Second Life, voice technology is optional—so if you’re not comfortable with it, you don’t have to engage. By the same token, I think a lot of people in Second Life crave more interaction, and voice technology can, as you said, bring engagement to a whole new level.
Tucson, AZ.: Isn’t this a big waste of time? Wouldn’t it be better to live a real life in the real world instead of spending all day in a dark room staring at a computer screen and getting fat?
Jessica Bennett: Well, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say that everyone doing this is getting fat—there are certainly people engaging in Second Life (and I’ve met them) that are not your stereotypical tech geeks. But if a person is spending so much time in Second Life that they begin to neglect their real, “first” life, then I think you’re right. But modern society can be very isolating, and I think that for some people, Second Life is an escape—like one of my sources said, the equivilant of “the 21st century novel”—and more than just that, it’s a way to interact in ways that many of us don’t get from work or home.
Atlanta, GA: How much time do most Second Life players spend in the game?
Jessica Bennett: That’s hard to say—I think it ranges across the gamut. But, according to a recent Dutch study, 57 percent of Second Lifers surveyed said they spent more than 18 hours a week there, and 33 percent spend more than 30 hours a week.
Los Angeles, CA: How do the Second Life numbers really add up? Eight-million people signed up for Second Life, but are they really spending time there?
Jessica Bennett: No, not necessarily—and that’s one of the things we point out in our story. 8 million registered means that half of those could have registered once and never again logged in, so they’re not active users. However, Second Life (secondlife.com) tracks how many people are logged in at any given moment (right now it’s 37,882), as well as how many have logged in in the last 60 days (nearly 2 million). Those numbers are probably more accurate.
If we create another self and live an alternate life online, are we not encouraging delusional thoughts? Does this not pose a danger to mental health? It smacks of schizophrenia.
Jessica Bennett: I think that all depends on a person’s motivations. Gaming addiction is certainly a problem, and like I said, if a person lets this “Second Life” take over his or her first life, that can be a problem. But I think there’s also a way it can supplement a real life. Many psychologists I’ve spoken with say it can—though of course isn’t always—can be a healthy, positive thing. It’s a way to express, explore and experiment with identity, vent frustrations, or perhaps reveal an alter-ego. We all do that in real life, so why not do it in Second Life?
Aligarh, India: Where do you find common people in the ladder of second life?
Jessica Bennett: Literally, all over. There are artists, musicians, fashion designers, activists, educators—literally, the whole spectrum. I think you’ll find it’s a lot less wacky than people think.
England: What did you personally get out of your time in Second Life?
Jessica Bennett: Wow, that’s a tough one. I think I entered into researching this article like most people who aren’t incredibly tech-savvy would have: I thought, “This is nuts, let me check it out.” But what I found was that the people engaging in this medium are not just tech geeks, and the people I interacted with were not just “online acquaintences”—they became real friends. I came in with a very critical eye (of course, being the journalist that I am), but I left with a very different perspective about the ways these worlds are adding to our social fabric, too.
Clemson, SC: How long does it take to set up a Second Life character? Does it cost anything? How do you choose what your character will look like?
Jessica Bennett: It depends a lot on how much you care about appearence. Joining Second Life is free, and you begin your time there with a basic body type and very basic clothes (jeans, a T-shirt and flip-flops, if I’m remembering correctly). But you can “edit” your avatar any time you want. That means, change your body type, size, skin tone, breast size, makeup—all of it. It’s really up to your imagination.
Buffalo, NY: How do people have sex in Second Life? I don’t get it.
Jessica Bennett: That’s the question that everybody wants to know. I’ll premise my answer by saying that NO, I’ve never had sex in Second Life. But I have researched HOW you do it, and many people do. Your avatar doesn’t come complete with genitalia, but resident vendors sell the necessary parts. From there, you can buy (with Linden dollars, the in-world currency) equipment ranging from beds and other furniture to fanciful torture devices that come with attached software that will “animate” your avatar through the motions of sex. The rest is up to your imagination.
Singapore: Gartner recently predicted 80% virtual world penetration by 2011, do you see that happening and so soon? If so, how much impact is this going to have on real life, particularly the way we conduct personal and business relationships? Will this be more of a positive or negative impact?
Jessica Bennett: Those figures are indeed quite staggering. I’m not sure if we’ll see them come to fruition, but certainly we’re already seeing the impact on personal and business relationships. I think we’re going to continue to see people of all ages head online—if not for romantic relationships, for general social action. Social networking—whether it be MySpace, Facebook or Second Life—is fun, and as more people head online, businesses are going to continue to target those users. As corporations realize these sites can be used beyond the world of socializing, and as young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs increase their presence in the workplace, I think we’ll see this whole environment really explode.
Largo, FL: Second Life seems to be a lawless land full of less-than- ethical opportunists. What do you think can and should be done to make it a safer, more enjoyable place?
Jessica Bennett: I wouldn’t call Second Life unsafe, necessarily. Or not any less safe than anything else out there on the internet. I wouldn’t suggest steering your toddler there, but so far, it seems like Linden Lab’s hands-off policy seems to be working. As with any new technology, there will always be some people who are ill-intentioned (think MySpace, Craigslist). But there are also people who are helping improve their own lives, and the lives of others. I guess you just have to decide if it’s worth the risk.
Bellona: Honestly, if you weren’t doing a story on Second Life, would you really spend time there? It seems boring as hell.
Jessica Bennett: I probably never would have entered Second Life in the first place if I weren’t researching a story, but once I did, I truly did enjoy it. I probably had a lot more guidance because of the fact that I had a built-in friend set of people I’d interviewed, but I found it far from boring. There, literally, is everything to do there that you can do here. I went to art galleries, I sat in on lectures, I walked along the beach, took a tour through a model schizophrenic episode—and went dancing, a lot of dancing. I don’t know if I’ll continue to log in at the rate I had been, but I could see stopping in every now and then.
Jessica Bennett: Thanks so much for all your great questions. For more information, check out the article, video and photo gallery on Second Life at Newsweek.com.
Jessica (aka JB Vella)
