Second Life Magnifies Real Life

Years ago, a journalist described Second Life as having a speed of life one hundred times faster than Real Life. A couple could meet, fall in love, get partnered, get bored, fall out of love, and unpartner all in the space of a week. While this virtual world reflects RL, it would seem to exaggerate it.

Does using a computer lead to sensory overload? We jokingly refer to somebody being distracted by saying they have the attention span of a fruit fly. However, I've remarked over the years a tendency to focus on the here and now, ignoring what may have just happened. I've referred to this as how people get distracted by the next shiny bauble. I finish one thing, chatting with somebody for instance, and then move on to something else and almost immediately forget about what I was just doing. It's like my short-term memory is shot. Thanks goodness, I faithfully use the Notes section of profiles to track various tidbits about the individual so I can recall the individual otherwise, I would more than likely not remember who they are.

In this blog, I've spoken about anonymity and how it gives us total freedom to do or say anything we want without fear of criticism or condemnation. What do we do with such freedom? It would seem some people forget about manners and behave badly, that is, in RL they would get their face slapped or even risk a call to 9-1-1. Guys walk around with their junk out, asking every woman they meet if they want to f*ck. Really?

Of course, Second Life is just a game. Well, it may be a game to some people but as the old saying goes, behind every avatar is a real human being. In this game, the avatar with whom you're interacting is not a computer-generated simulation. Maybe politeness and respect are not such bad things after all.

SL can be a fantasy world of make believe. Vampires, Nekos, furries, a multitude of role-play characters, one can be anything they want. The only limitation is your imagination. Along with that comes, ahem, enhancements. Men so muscular as to put Arnold Schwarzennegger to shame. Women so top heavy, they must be seeing a chiropractor on a daily basis for back adjustments. Tall, short, fat, skinny, every physical characteristic is up for an emphatic do-over. Where does a man sporting a penis the size of a forearm get a jockstrap?

As an aside, there seems to be a fight going on about the size of avatars. In my blog Avatar Height, I talk about how the SL norm seems to be SL size = RL size times 1.25. Historically, the reason seems to be based on the POV (Point Of View) perspective in the viewers. Nevertheless, a number in the past few years have designed their avatars with their SL size proportional to their RL size, leading to comparatively small people. Good? Bad? I find myself sometimes so way out of proportion with the individual that I've taken to shortening myself in order to have something more realistically proportional, restoring my height in the company of other people.

Personally, I play Second Life in an immersive fashion, that is, it isn't a game; we're actually here. I'm playing me, obviously a version of myself without the usual RL restrictions, but still me. As such, I retain a degree of real life proportions. I don't need to out-Arnold Arnold or possess equipment rivaling a miniature stallion to live a satisfactory virtual life. But that's just me. I guess my fantasies are less cosplay and more about creating a connection with a potential partner, seeing them as more of a real human being than a fantasy exaggeration of the same. To each their own.

I've joked that there is so much sex in Second Life that I think SL actually stands for Sex Life. In this virtual world, all RL restrictions are dispensed with, religious, moral, and even legal, and everyone is free to do whatever they normally keep hidden in the dark recesses of their minds. BDSM, D/s, M/s, anonymous public sex, AFK sex, polyamory / non-monogamy, multiple partners, gangbangs, the Glory Hole, CMNF and CFNM, and bestiality along with aliens, monsters, and tentacle sex, every kink imaginable is available. SL is a variation of Rule 34: if it exists in Real Life; it exists in Second Life.

Above, I said that my fantasies are less cosplay and more about creating a connection with a potential partner but I recognize that potential partner is, in a way, a fantasy exaggeration of themselves as that person is far more sexually liberated then they would be in RL. In observing how much more sexual people are in Second Life, I am reminded of just how repressive our Puritan culture is.

May all your dreams come true, and may all your fantasies be realized.

2022-06-29