Human beings are basically not perfect. Therefore, we always constantly find ways to perfection. Perfection is something that all human being would want to have. Therefore, there are many ways that people do in order to satisfy their desire to be perfect. Thanks to Second Life, a virtual reality avatar, people can easily be ‘perfect’.
People in the Second Life community are all trying to be what wanted to be that they cannot be in real life. All aspects of life, physically or emotionally or intellectually, there can be made perfect. So, the question is are they real? Well, basically they are not real but from my perspective, emotions can be real. For example, there is a guy that has a girlfriend and also has an avatar girlfriend but the guy spends most of his time online with his avatar girlfriend. When interviewed, he said that his avatar girlfriend is more understanding that his actual girlfriend. Somehow, they are emotionally attached as the avatar gives him all that his actual girlfriend lacking. For me, emotions are subjective and they are real if they exist.
The point is, it is good to find something that is lacking in real space in the virtual reality but they are just running away from their real life problem. Sometimes we just have to handle our real life problem because that is what life is all about. Learning what is lacking or wrong and try to mend it. This way our life will be more meaningful. For me, the virtual space is just a medium for people to escape from problems in reality.
3 comments:
Nothing in this world is perfect, either naturally or human made. Only the nature reached an almost perfect state, but still there are flaws. The virtual world we created provides a "fake" perfection to our life, which does not last long. Yes, it is true when they believe the fake to be the real thing, it spelled trouble for them. In a recent news post by a popular gaming website, a friend killed his friend because he betrayed him. He was too indulged into the virtual world that he decided to kill his friend, so that the "perfect life" he is experiencing is not disturbed. There are lots of YouTube videos about addicted people on the virtual world. Just like Jackie said in class "it's not real, it's just stupid". Those who abandoned their real life for the fake perfection are those who cannot strive in this world. We should have a clear boundary about virtual world and real world. We should learn how to differentiate it.
Nothing that is involved with Earth is perfect, and yes people do turn to secondary meanings to find some way to let their true feelings escape or try to get satisfied in some way that they currently are not. The second life, in my opinion, is just a way to do both of these things, let their true feelings escape and get satisfied. I know some people this means of satisfaction is as real as a relationship with an actual being, however this escape that the person is trying to make is pointless because even though the feelings might be real, when it comes down to it they are in a virtual relationship with a person they have no idea about. The person on the other end of the avatar could have just made their gender fake, where the avatar is a female but the actual person behind the computer is a male. This is just a sick and meaningless life that if people allow themselves to get hooked into this aspect, then they should really find help; if they cannot get it from their real life partner then go to a family member or a psychiatrist. There are many aspects that this way of escape is similar to; in my opinion this is just as bad as turning to alcohol to escape relationship problems. Virtual relationships are not ways to escape, they are only "fake" escapes prolonging the actual problem occurring in the real world.
The rules of internet manners are sketchy enough without adding avatars to the mix. Should spaces like second life be the place for people to live out their deepest darkest desires? Or should they be prosecuted for these acts just as if they had committed them in real space. Personally I think it is spacer to allow these people to have and outlet. If raping someone on second life is the only way to prevent it happening in the real world, then I don’t think it should be punishable by real prison time. Maybe prison time for their avatar? I think that if it happens in second life, it should stay in second life; meaning that the avatar should be punished rather than the person. The consequences should match the action.
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