Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Paul Levinson focuses a lot on cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying, which I believe are two very serious issues in our fairly new cyber-culture. Another idea that I thought of while brainstorming about the Costs and Consequences of all the New, New Media that we have covered in class so far, is the topic of cyberporn. Specifically child cyberporn.

Here is a breif background of the law, taken directly from USLegal.com :

In the 1990s, lawmakers twice passed legislation targeting child porn online. The first was the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) of 1996, designed both to close loopholes in existing federal child pornography law and address new technological issues by the following:

• Criminalizing the act of knowingly possessing, selling, receiving, sending, or transmitting child pornography via the internet or email.
• Criminalizing so-called “virtual, or morphed” depictions of child pornography, those that appear to involve minors and those created by computer graphics software.

The law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that it was overbroad and would also have hurt artistic expression. Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, (2002).

This problem was specifically seen in Second Life. As we all learned in class, you can create Avatars to look however you want. The issue was, in this virtual reality, a user had created an avatar that looked like a child performing sexial acts on an adult avatar. Many people were outraged by this visual atrocity and expected legal action to be taken against this individual. Unfortunately, since the image of the child was not based on an actual, real life person, no legal action could be taken against this man that many felt was just as bad as a pedofile.

While this is an unfortuante consequence of having little control over virtual reality in Social Media, and while it is not a cost that should be taken lightly, what we must conclude in the end is that regardless of the technology or new things introduced into our culture, people will always find ways to abuse social outlets whether is is reality or virtual. I think the benefits of Social Media will greatly outweigh the few moral discrepancies we occasionally encounter on the Internet.

2nd Life

I first heard about "Second Life" in my Intro to Media Industries course last year.  At first, it sounded like something for people with no lives.  After all, it is called "Second Life."  After reading about it, I learned that there is a lot more to it.

"Second Life" can be used in a ton of different ways.  It seems like if it is possible in real life, you can do it in "Second Life."  There is crime in "Second Life" and even a currency.  I feel like some people are at a great risk of getting addicted to this virtual world.  I personally believe that it is a waste of time, and wouldn't want to get involved.  

While there are some positive aspects of "Second Life" (can be used for education), I believe that it is not a good substitute for real life.  People should not use it to hide from their true lives.

Isn't One Life Enough?

Most of the time when I think about my life I look back and see my mistakes and just try to avoid them in the future. There's drama, there's fun, there's misery, there's love, and there's happiness, what more could you ask for? Well some people think there's more to life than just that. Some people use the website "Second Life" to live a second life. Now I'm not sure if I'm just a simpleton, but I have plenty of trouble keeping my first life straight and not mixing stuff up, how can I expect to lead a whole new virtual life?

Most of the time to get a better idea about how these sites work I'll get a profile on it, however Second Life is something that I'm going to steer clear of. Maybe I just have tunnel vision, but Second Life just seems to be a site where people can live their dreams online in a world without regret or true consequence. I don't see this to be a necessity or even a hobby by any stretch of the imagination. I'd much rather spend my time doing something semi-productive on the computer rather than monitor my imaginary life superimposed on a computer screen.

When I hear the word "Avatar," I normally think of the blockbuster James Cameron film, however avatars are just the bodies through which people live their Second Lives through. Every time I hear "avatar," I think that everyone is 9 feet tall, blue skinned and lives on a planet named Pandora. It just not seem practical to me to have a virtual life to live out your dreams. Your dreams are something that you should strive for in real life, not in some virtual reality like the Matrix. Come on people, isn't one life enough?

Second Life or Second Chance

Second Life is an online virtual world that allows users to create, interact, and explore their own made up reality. Users can create an entire new identity online, similar to the game The Sims. To me this is a much different form of social media then the ones we have been discussing in class. Second Life is very similar to The Sims game however, if people chose to use this game as an escape from there real life there is a problem. Social media has been used in many positive aspects but is there a point when it can go too far???? I believe there are some negative aspects to this form of social media. If people begin to spend more time managing their "Second life" then they do managing their real life, this social media tool could be harmful. In a way, Second Life is providing users with a counter fit reality, almost brainwashing its users. I feel as if this is a way people can create a new life if they don't like the one there a currently living. Maybe people are looking for a way to start over and Second Life gives them that option, or maybe even a second chance. This whole idea is a bit scary to me. Of course, there is nothing wrong with playing a simple game on the computer, but when people are using this to escape their life's, its wrong.

It is always easy to criticise a social media that you are not familiar with but after researching Second Life there are in fact some positive aspects as well.The virtual technology of this game could be educational. The grid system and land ownership is very mathematical. The various land types, parcel sizes, and max prims could prepare users for real life application of buying vs. selling land. As well as other life lessons that can be acquired in this "game." This form of social media could possible be a fun experience as long as Second Chance is being used and an innocent form of media, and not in search for a second chance in life.

What's real?

I think that Second Life is a way for people to escape from their life and live in a fantasy world. I kind of understand it as a promotional tool as Dr. Levinson describes when trying to sell his book, or as Lost used it. Lost's use of its own satellite website in conjunction with the Second Life island was a really creative idea and would really work to bring fans together. It would also allow those working on the show to see feedback from viewers and get a feel for what the show's following really wants from it. However, I wonder how profitable it really is to use it as a means for making money. I know that Dr. Levinson referred to a few people making a large sum of money, but I would think that typically people would be breaking even or losing money, especially since all the extras in second life have to be purchased. Let's face it, no one wants to walk around in a virtual world naked and basic. So, I feel like people would get lost in this virtual world and would be at risk for becoming too comfortable in it. They might ultimately grow to prefer Second Life to their real life and not want to leave. I feel like it would become addictive and people might sit in front of the computer for hours developing relationships that they may never experience in person. It is an interesting phenomenon because I remember playing the Sims and loving it, but at least aside from paying for the version of the game, the rest was free. Second Life seems like it could draw people in and in a way take their money as they become more and more consumed with the virtual reality.

Second Life

Second Life is a virtual reality in which the users creates an avatar and lives in a virtual world. The first time I had heard about this game was after I saw the movie Gamer. Gamer is a movie in which the main character Gerard Butler, a prisoner is placed into a fighting game where someone is controlling his every move. The movie itself was similar to Second Life, especially since there was another game in the movie which was just life Second Life, however it used real people as the avatars. After the movie I learned that such a game was real, minus the use of real people and it also reminded me another game called the Sims. Anyways, as much fun as these games seem I am not a fan. I think that these games take you away from reality and living your own life. Although it may be entertaining and interesting to live as some other person, I think people should accept who they are and live their own lives.
However, I do see the attractiveness of this game. I mean being capable of changing everything in this world not only feels empowering but also allows you to do whatever you please. Really there are very few limits to what can do in this game and if you want to do sexual and somewhat perverted things to other avatars then the game allows you to do just that. This is where the weird part comes in, because I think that this is the reason that the game attracts so many creepy perverts who waste their time living in a fantasy. I think that Second Life is a creative and intelligent idea, however I think the temptations of it could take over someones life in which case people would lose what life they want to live more.

Free Yourself or Lose Yourself?

Second Life seems to me to be more of a game than a social media outlet. As I was reading, I kind of thought of it as a more advanced version of the Sims. I understand that it does have some educational or social purposes, but it seems like it is used largely as a gaming center.

I had never heard of Second Life before reading about it in New New Media. I went on the website to try to figure out if it is any different from how it is portrayed in the book and I came upon a "What is Second Life?" video. You can watch it here. I think it is interesting what the text at the bottom of the screen says as it scrolls through the video. "A place to connect, to shop, to work, to love, to explore, to be different, be yourself, free yourself, free your mind, change your mind, change your look, love your look, love your life".

I don't think that this promotes healthy online behavior. I think that people can probably get carried away in this "Second Life" and forget about reality. Instead of people doing all of those things in real life, they just get their fix by doing it in a fake world, spending fake money and interacting with fake people. Even though there is a real person behind each fake one, that just means the problem is two-fold.

escape from reality

I had heard about Second Life only once before on the same MTV program that Alyssa mentioned in her post. The program followed a typical introverted teenage girl through her experiences on Second Life as a famous musician. Of course, her real life (or LR as non-"newbies" call it),was completely different and she was far from selling out huge venues in front of thousands of adoring fans. In fact, the girl had never performed in front of anyone.

This is a prime example of the false sense of achievement that Second Life can provide for its users. Given a serious case of stage fright, the girl could never bring herself to perform anywhere other than in this virtual world. The problem with this is that as long as she continues to use the site as a means to express herself, she will never learn to socialize and interact with people in real life. Not only this, but she is also given the opportunity to be whoever she wants to be within Second Life. This may sound like a positive outlet for people to express themselves as they could not or would not in real life, but I think it's a slippery slope to losing yourself. If you change so many attributes about yourself in order to "improve", chances are you're going to become dissatisfied with the person you are in real life. This does not exactly encourage a healthy sense of self.

My overall impression of Second Life was skeptical to say the least. It appears to me to be nothing more than an alternate virtual community that gives people an excuse to escape/avoid the reality of their own lives, pretend to be something they are not, and indulge strange fantasies that should be dealt with by a psychiatrist. I mean really?-- sex? That's just weird.

Second Life

"Second life is not a game. It is a multi-user virtual environment. It doesn't have points or scores; it doesn't have winners or losers... Exactly everything was the same... except I could fly"

-Dwight Schrute

I first heard about Second Life from The Office clip provided above. At first I thought it was made up, but after a quick Google search, found out that it was not only a functioning application, it was immensely popular.

Being the curious and (trying to be) tech savvy kid that I was, I decided to try it out and convinced one of my friends to try it as well. At first we were incredibly confused. We didn't really know what to do, we looked exactly the same and wore just the default clothes. As we walked, ran, and flew around the Second Life world, we were mocked and laughed at by countless users for being "noobs." As Jim said "Oh... there are losers." Unfortunately, in that world, we were the losers.

A couple of days in, we stuck with it and actually found the Second Life version of New York City. We were finally able to customize our avatars and made use of the free items available. We weren't quite sure what, why, or how the money there works, but to our surprise, people actually use real money to get Second Life money. That was probably the most shocking thing about it for me that people would spend money just so they could buy a 3D outfit. Now we weren't going to start shelling out money just so some chump can make fun of us for not wearing the latest clothes, but we did want to get some money.

So I got a job. A Second Life job. It was pretty simple, really. I checked in, and I sat under a tree. Every 10 minutes, I would get 5 of whatever currency they used. It seemed simple enough, so I began leaving the program on while I was in class and started earning some decent money.

Before I knew it we were hanging out in the hottest clubs in Second Life New York with outrageous outfits. After about a week of trying it out, the novelty of the whole thing wore off and we stopped playing.

It was entertaining to learn the whole thing, but it didn't really appeal to us since there wasn't really any clear objectives to the game and we weren't about to spend real money to access new features.

As I said, the most surprising thing about it for me is the fact that people actually make and spend money off this. Even more surprising was that I had to put this in practice in my internship. It wasn't Second Life, but it's a site just like it called IMVU. I had to create an avatar and then go to various clubs and sell virtual t-shirts. As ridiculous as I thought the whole thing was, I was actually selling some fake t-shirts over this program at $3 a pop! It was crazy and I was amazed that people actually did this.

I guess I'm just not the target of the program and I don't think I will ever understand it completely. I can appreciate why people like it and why it's popular, but it's just not for me. Interesting stuff, though and I'm actually glad I tried it. I've always wanted to fly.

A Second Life to Live

Second Life enables anyone to be anything they want in this virtual world. People who are unable to express themselves in reality can use this site as an outlet of their emotions and feelings. They can take on jobs and roles that they would never be able to be in real life and this makes them happy. They have Second Life friends who enhance their being and make them who they are in Second Life. MTV did a special called True Life: I Live Another Life on the Web, documenting the life of a teenage girl who lived her dream through Second Life. Her avatar was a musician, like herself, looked like her, but she was only able to perform inside this virtual community. She suffered from severe stage fright and she used this website in order to fulfill her dreams that otherwise seemed impossible. I felt this episode was very creepy because it just seemed so fake to me.

While some people may love the virtual world of Second Life, I find it a bit weird. I understand that some people have social issues, but I feel like they can be dealt with in reality. I do not understand the fantasy of it, why you would use something that actually isolates you, putting you behind a computer to have more friends. The concept of sex in the Second Life also freaked me out. It is like it took the Sims to a whole other level and I really do not get it. I feel like people should put their time and energy into things that are realistic and try to pursue their dreams in this world, the real world.

Knowing the Age of "Second Lifers"

I have actually been a member of "Second Life" before. It was
about 5 years ago or so and I got the idea from watching my local news. They were doing a story on this new virtual world and I decided to go check it out. I think I only went on the site once and it wasn't because I hated it, but rather you never know what kind of people you are talking to. I can distinguishably remember two types of people. There was this guy who kept making fun of me because I was new to the website. He put me in a bubble and I had no idea how to get out of it. Reading Professor Levinson's section on "Second Life," he probably created a script that put me into said bubble. The second was a girl who claimed to be 15 but was actually 10 or 12. I figured this out based on the language she was using and her lack of typing skills. Since that day, I have never been on the site again. Based on the reading, apparently it was through some changes; one in particular. That change is the addition of voices. Before, members had to type everything as if they were in a chat group. Now, members have the option of speaking aloud to other members. This change can also help identify an approximate age of the complete strangers that you are socializing with.

Has anyone else attempted this virtual reality? Did you notice any changes or updates that have been added over the years? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Is This Real Life?

The full, immersive experience that a virtual world like Second Life offers requires a level of dedication and engagement that most people are not willing to, or capable of offering. For those that do, however, the robust opportunities and community driven aspects that Dr. Levinson describes as a part of Second Life can quickly change one's perception of reality. When someone has used the so called "second life" to make a quarter of a million dollars and has real estate assets valued at $1 million, one must ask--much like David did after his trip to the dentist--"is this real life?"

Reading about Dr. Levinson's experience with Second Life and how he set up a shop and read parts of his book to an audience is pretty amazing. It really is like an entirely new, second life. The range of possible actions make for a deeply engaged experience, and having someone walk up to your shop, talking about a book, and then giving them an address to mail the book to be autographed is an example of how the second life is merged with the "RL." Even though there are times where real life and the second life merge, you can still create an entirely virtual life that becomes even more real. Making connections with people in a virtual space reminds me of massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft--people get so involved that they take on a whole new persona, have a different group of friends, and form bonds strong enough to hold in-game funerals. I suspect that, upon hearing about a virtual world like Second Life, most people think of it as "weird," which can explain why the number of registered users is so low when compared to Facebook or Twitter.

Creating an avatar or a virtual character that represents your real life likeness is something that is not unfamiliar to console gamers today. The difference, however, is that the use of an avatar in most console video games is a quicker process that doesn't provide a second life as much as it provides an alter ego. Users can choose to make avatars that are a real life reflection of character, and at the same time, there are plenty of people who create avatars that do not reflect their real life character in any way. The creation of avatars for celebrity or cartoon characters is very popular. Virtual spaces on consoles which use avatars do not offer even close to the number of tools needed to create a second life, and instead are used as a tool to create a greater sense of immersion by making it possible to get "you" in the game.



With the release of the Wii back in 2006, Nintendo gave players the ability to create an avatar known as a "Mii" via the Mii Channel. Your Mii represents your personal character in games, and can interact with people from around the world through the Everybody Votes Channel and Check Mii Out Channel. The newly released Nintendo 3DS comes equipped with updated Mii software, and boasts a new feature called Street Pass, which places greater emphasis on real-life interactivity than ever before. Crossover between real-life and the virtual character is of heightened importance because in-person encounters will initiate the exchange of Mii characters, personal statistics, and gaming information, ultimately leading to a wider network of people to play against--or together with--online. As of last year, there were over 100 million Miis created in Japan and America alone.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 followed suit in late 2008 with their own version of avatars, which also reflect your looks in-game, as well as on the dashboard. Avatars on Xbox 360 are used to less of an extent as on Wii, but have been implemented into games more of late because of the release of Kinect. Sony has a different approach on their PlayStation 3 console. Instead of an avatar system that is used in-game or to serve other menu driven functions, they released their own virtual world in late 2008 as free downloadable software known as PlayStation Home. Home is much closer to Second Life than anything else on consoles, but it is more limited. It offers the chance for people to talk and play games, but it has also been seen as a commercial space full of advertisements and micro transactions. Sony recently said that there are 19 million unique registered PlayStation Home users, but did not give the average number of daily users.



For all of the people who use the Internet, as of September 2008, only 15 million use Second Life. Creating a virtual character or avatar is not a strange concept to people, and is common practice among gamers. It is now second nature for gamers to create a character to use within games. Video games draw a much clearer line between the real life character and the created avatar. There is a strong sense of involvement, but users still remain a step removed from living the virtual life of a character. The world of Second Life puts the user within a virtual reality and creates the opportunity for a new life. Perhaps the number of people with a video game avatar vs the number of people on Second Life indicate that people are much more comfortable taking on the role of a virtual character within a game, where the boundaries of real life and virtual life are separated, but less inclined to enter themselves into a world that challenges their perception of reality.