Final Part 2 -- Thesis

In today's society, technology has taken on such a huge role in every day life. Almost no one spends a day without interacting with one form of technology or another, and most face technology through interactions. By interacting through a technological interface or virtual world, people form an entire virtual identity. Because of the uniqueness of virtual realms, this identity is quite different than that of "real life." These virtual spaces go beyond simply e-mailing and instant messaging. Entire communities are created through the internet. Second life is a great example of how an entire lifestyle can be portrayed and lived out via the internet and technology. The virtual identity created through second life works as "a parallel life" to the person's "real life." In Julian Dibble's book, Play Money, he explores the true nature of living part of your life through virtual space. This long passage helps illustrate the very nature of how a virtual identity can parallel real life:

"I knew then that I was in trouble, and just what kind of trouble it was. Like most players, I had joked about being addicted to the game. And sometimes--after I'd lost half my work day to a four- or five-hour "lunch break" of game play or as I lay in bed actually hoping for insomnia so that I could get up and slay lizard men for a couple of hours--I wondered whether it was more than a joke. But now I saw plainly that, at least as far as certain quarters of my brain were concerned, this was more than an addiction. It was a parallel life. A career, in fact, and in some ways a career more straightforwardly rewarding than the writing career I had chosen to follow in my real life. And as long as there was room to rise in this career -- as long as there were bigger monsters to slay, bigger piles of gold to amass, and a distantly attainable day when I might have some sort of revenge on the prick who'd killed my horse--then I would go on feeling compelled to pursue it right up to the limits of the sensible."

One main point Dibble brings up is the idea of a virtual identity being a "career." He explains how through his virtual life "there is room to rise." This is very much like real life. People strive to become the best they can be and to reach their goals. That's a main reason why we do anything we do. However, in one's real life, this may turn out to be much more difficult than imagined. Dibble claims his virtual life is "more straightforwardly rewarding" than his real career. I feel this helps manifest the parallelism between life and a virtual one. People want to be rewarded for their work; they want to feel they have accomplished something. These accomplishments are very visible through a community like second life. While it is not strictly a game that one either wins or loses at, there are different ways to become an expert. Almost every island I traveled to had some sort of "mentor" there. These avatars were present to help "noobs" understand the islands. I also think they enjoy showing others how much knowledge they have of the specific place or want to explain it because they created it.

While many people do use a second life virtual identity to parallel their own life, there are many different aspects of a virtual life. I think they use it to parallel real life, which, in turn, becomes a form of escapism. Like I previously mentioned, many people want to achieve greater things and they are able to through virtual worlds. I feel that by mirroring one's own life, the virtual identity also acts as an escape. They are able to still be themselves, and live a life very similar to their "real life," but people are able to do things and be things they are unable to in real life. So even though it is a life very similar and parallel to a real one, there is a sense of retreating from society and being able to express oneself freely. I feel this is mostly noteable through the different avatars found throughout second life. My personal avatar is a picture of what I desire to look like. She has the perfect body, hair, clothes, etc. While I act like I do in real life, I am able to appear the way I wish I did, therefore escaping the doubts I have about my appearance in "real life." Also, many people create avatars with wings, multi-colored hair, animal body parts, etc to help express their personality.

As Dibble writes, "I would go on feeling compelled to pursue it right up to the limits of the sensible," many people become fully wrapped up in their virtual identity that it becomes a parallel life to their "real" one. People still function in society, but go up to the logical limit. They use virtual communities such as Second Life to supplement their outside lives. Through Second Life, people are able to mirror their own lives and, at times, even escape from them.