Different Manners Between Second Life and Real Life

2009/4/14 by Alina in second life

Today I met a girl on Second Life (SL). Let’s call her T.C. She introduced me to camp in the camping place of the club she works for. All I have to do is to dance with a pole. And while dancing, I can do whatever I like or even be “away.” This is great and thus has become my first job on SL.

I continued to chat with T.C. Then I got to know she has been a dancer and manager in the club for 2 months. I asked if she’s also a dancer in real life (RL). She answered “no heavens, no!” I continued to ask her whether SL or RL is more interesting to her. She said “well, RL is more fun but SL is zero risk,” “so I like to be a lot more dirty and erotic in SL LOL” ”plus, there's no diseases and no real pregnancy in here,” “and I don't think my little cartoon girl has an immortal soul to lose.” I checked her name card, on which there is a naked picture of her and flirty naughty self-introduction. Then, I started to be curious about what kind of person she is in RL. In RL, she is from U.S.A. and 18, works for minimum wage and go to community college. She said her parents can’t afford to send her to four-year College. I told her the information of Taiwan’s offering great scholarship for international students. She replied “hmmm that sounds like a big scary risk to take LOL” “because I've only been out of California once LOL.” The chat with T.C. is very interesting. I don’t know her look in RL. In SL, she dresses hot with half-naked boobs. And her behaviors, styles, reactions, and attitudes towards SL and RL are at opposite poles. According to what she said, she sounds a reserved girl unwilling to take risk in RL. However, In SL, she’s in a quite lusty and bold style.

Under the social norm, people are usually more cautious, conservative, self-controlled, and suppressed in RL. In the virtual anarchistic society of SL, people seem to be more adventurous and explorative because there are no risks and responsibilities for consequences. In SL, people can have sex at will without worries about “diseases and real pregnancy.” And even if they die in SL, they can simply start a new avatar again. In SL, people are able to release all their desires, consciously or unconsciously, they are forbidden to realize in RL. SL has become a duplicated real world in which people can have various identities and a vent for their suppressed desires and emotions.