As we saw in the PBS video, second life is a popular and continuously growing virtual world. Through this world, avatars are created to resemble yourself or even the person that you may wish to be. Facial features are chosen, you can buy clothing and accessories, choose an occupations, etc. all are designed to represent yourself and identify yourself from others. Although it may all seem harmless, I can't help but ask, is there possibly a dark side to this, like we have seen appear in other new technologies?
First of all, I think that having something like this enables people with socialization problems to avoid fixing them. If a person has anxiety of socializing with other people they may use this second life as a way to escape facing their problems/ fears. They would obviously rather stay inside their house and pretend to socialize with people rather than actually having to do so. Is it really healthy to hide behind a computer screen or to develop relationships with a virtual character instead of another human being?
Second, I think that it becomes very easy for people to lose themselves in this virtual world. For many people who are constantly using this, it seems that it would be possible to lose a sense of reality in all of the pretending. Avatars are given the ability to spend actual money in this second life. It has its own currency, but if you wanted to buy something your U.S. dollars would be converted. What kind of a toll is this taking on the economy? With all the problems that we have with the economy at the moment, I'm sure this is not helping at all. I also have a hard time understanding why anyone would actually want to buy something on here. I personally would have a hard time spending money that I worked for on something that is stuck inside the computer. What good does clothing, a cell phone or other electronics, accessories, etc. do for me if I can not actually use them? It just seems like a waste of money to me, I guess everyone's values are different though.
Third, I also feel that safety may be a concern. If people began to make friends though this world and at some point decide they'd like to actually meet in reality, they could be meeting someone dangerous. Just because they portray themselves as a certain person in second life does not mean that this is realistic to the person that they actually are. This could be especially dangerous for young women and children. A harmless meeting could end horribly because unfortunately you can not see who is actually on the other end of the computer.
A fourth problem I found with this was in the business world. It appeared very strange to me that corporations and companies were using this second life for meetings with employees, some of whom they had never actually met. In the business world I think the social aspect of meetings and business deals is essential. How can companies have CEOs communicating with their employees through this world, when they have never actually met or are living in another country on the other side of the world. Is there a safety issue in this too? How can you be certain who you are speaking about these important issues with?
I'm not saying that this second life technology is a bad idea, but where does it stop? How far does it go before it crosses a moral or an ethical line? Socialization is an important aspect of human life and is essential to developing as a person. If second life is eliminating this aspect of life for some people what effect will it have on them in the future?
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First of all, I think that having something like this enables people with socialization problems to avoid fixing them. If a person has anxiety of socializing with other people they may use this second life as a way to escape facing their problems/ fears. They would obviously rather stay inside their house and pretend to socialize with people rather than actually having to do so. Is it really healthy to hide behind a computer screen or to develop relationships with a virtual character instead of another human being?
Second, I think that it becomes very easy for people to lose themselves in this virtual world. For many people who are constantly using this, it seems that it would be possible to lose a sense of reality in all of the pretending. Avatars are given the ability to spend actual money in this second life. It has its own currency, but if you wanted to buy something your U.S. dollars would be converted. What kind of a toll is this taking on the economy? With all the problems that we have with the economy at the moment, I'm sure this is not helping at all. I also have a hard time understanding why anyone would actually want to buy something on here. I personally would have a hard time spending money that I worked for on something that is stuck inside the computer. What good does clothing, a cell phone or other electronics, accessories, etc. do for me if I can not actually use them? It just seems like a waste of money to me, I guess everyone's values are different though.
Third, I also feel that safety may be a concern. If people began to make friends though this world and at some point decide they'd like to actually meet in reality, they could be meeting someone dangerous. Just because they portray themselves as a certain person in second life does not mean that this is realistic to the person that they actually are. This could be especially dangerous for young women and children. A harmless meeting could end horribly because unfortunately you can not see who is actually on the other end of the computer.
A fourth problem I found with this was in the business world. It appeared very strange to me that corporations and companies were using this second life for meetings with employees, some of whom they had never actually met. In the business world I think the social aspect of meetings and business deals is essential. How can companies have CEOs communicating with their employees through this world, when they have never actually met or are living in another country on the other side of the world. Is there a safety issue in this too? How can you be certain who you are speaking about these important issues with?
I'm not saying that this second life technology is a bad idea, but where does it stop? How far does it go before it crosses a moral or an ethical line? Socialization is an important aspect of human life and is essential to developing as a person. If second life is eliminating this aspect of life for some people what effect will it have on them in the future?
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