What is the psychology behind the addiction of the online game Second Life?

Why are so many people addicted to this online game? If you don't know what this game is, let me inform you then. It's an online virtual Instant Message game similiar to Instant Message programs such as Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Message, etc., but instead, you actually create your own virtual avatars, teleport to different virtual terrorities, convert your real US Dollar to Linden Dollars ($1 = 270 Linden Dollars) to buy your own property, sell products in your own shops to make profit. People actually have virtual romances with other people, get married, have virtual kids. It basically is living a second life. So what exactly is the psychology behind the addiction of this online game? Can anyone tell me?What is the psychology behind the addiction of the online game Second Life?
OK, here we go again. Whenever someone asks about SL there's always the jerk who says it's for fat losers with no real life.



Yep - there are some of those in SL for sure.



Let's centre on this 'no real life' thing for a moment though ...



I have a disability. Before that I had a wonderful social life in the real world. Granted, my disability is minor comparred to some people, but it still restricts my life to a degree that makes my old social activities difficult. I can't really complain though because I'm 50 now and when I did have fun in real life ... BOY I had fun!



Some people are not so fortunate. There are many people all over the world with dibilitating conditions and quite a few find their way into Second Life. One such is a friend of mine who is in her 20s and is fighting breast cancer. Her condition means she CANNOT lead a normal life. Just think about that for a second. She's young, she's pretty, she's intelligent, but cancer has stolen her real life. So she comes to SL. In SL she looks normal and her avatar can do normal things. In SL she's involved in something called Relay For Life which raises money for cancer research. This is from an announcement we got in the Relay group today:



'RFL has already raised MORE money this year than all of the COMBINED years previous added together over $160,000.00 US Dollars to date!'



My friend should be celebrating that fact with us today. Instead, she's in a hospital bed, critically ill after her latest treatment. Tomorrow - as the 2008 Second Life Relay For Life campaign enters it's final weekend, thousands of us will walk - in a virtual world - over 37 regions in SL to celebrate those who fight cancer and to remember those who lost the fight and in the process try to push that total up a little more. Relay For Life is not just the biggest cancer charity event in SL ... it's now recognised as a major cance charity event by people outside SL - offering support or cancer sufferers, their families and friends. In SL there is no stigma. In SL people don't stop and stare.



Yeah, some people behave in an addictive manner with SL. Some even say they are addicted. What I really think is that they are not o much addicted as obsessed. Some people find SL so much simpler than real life and it's easier to see that as a more attractive option than real life. This can be disappinting in the long run, especially if the person becomes involved in a relationship and is attracted to the avatar rather than the person behind it.



Despite my disability, I still go back to real life and I do all the things I have to do. As difficult as it is, I still meet real life friends and go out. Sometimes I even watch that outdated form of entertainment called TV. I go and visit my mother and stay for a few days to help her with things. Despite the problems involved, I still go to at least one music festival a year and even sit in with fellow musicians and perform. For me - even though I love my Second Life - I feel a need to be conected to the real world too. Some don't or can't. In the case of many of my disabled friends, or friends who care for a disabled child or relative, they are totally housebound and Second Life is their only escape from a real life that has left them little more than prisoners in their own homes.



My friends in SL are no different from my friends in real life. Some I have met in real life. The tears I shed today at the thought of possibly losing my friend in SL are as real as the tears I would shed for my best real life friend if she was going through this, because over the course of two years, she HAS become a real life friend that I care for deeply.



What SL does by having an avatar is that it allows you to personalise the relationships you have with people. They become more than words. Only a fool would think that the avatar is a true representation of the real person, but - if done well - it can be a representation of how the person would like to be or how they wish to express themselves. Simple things like hugs between two avatars can often convey many things, such as love, respect, solidarity, concern, support and so on.



For sure, there are some strange people in SL and there have been instances of paedophiles getting their kicks by simuating sex with kid avies in SL. But for some reason, the fact that a handful of Paedos have used SL for their disturbing activities seems to make some people think it's OK to accuse everyone in SL of being paedophiles. That's a little bit like me accusing everyone who every uses the internet of being a paedophile because some people have used the internet for that purpose. If you go on holiday to Thailand does that automatically make you a paedophile? If you go on holiday to Sicilly, does that make you a member of the Mafia? I you buy a can of Diet Pepsi from a place that sells booze, does that make you an alcoholic? Somehow, I don't think so. Generalising everyone who uses Seond Life as being bad or losers because someone there has done something bad or because there are a few losers there does make you a bigotted jerk though. It's bad enough that we get idiots coming in to SL looking for the huge orgy they think is going on after seeing some stupid media report about all the suppsed sex we engage in. To then be told that we're all sad sex nuts doesn't help one bit.



There's some incredibly geeky but fun things that go in in SL, such as medieval fantasy role-playing - something I really enjoy. Yes, the clothes buying is just playing dress-up, but it's a lot of fun, and when you think about it on a gaming level, it's as much fun for girls as shooting things in Halo is for guys. So, OK, we spend money on this, but what do guys spend money on? Comic books? Football gear? Shoot-em-up games? Sports games? Do I ridicule you for it? Nope - if you think it's fun and good value for money, then you should go for it. All I ask in return is that you show the same respect for me and my chosen pastime, which is Second Life.



Hey, things could be a lot worse. I could come knocking on your door asking if you've heard the word of Jehovah and try to force copies of The Watchtower on you. As it is, my chosen interest doesn't impose on you in any way.



As for the relationships - getting married and all that - well it's a personal thing an it's not for everyone. I have been with the same partner in SL now for 17 months. Neither of us intended to find romance in SL - it just happened and we plan to meet in real life very soon. All I can say is that we're a perfect match and it would never have happened without Second Life.
Um my gerbil can tap danceWhat is the psychology behind the addiction of the online game Second Life?
I think you described it right there. How could that not be fun.

I've never done it before, but I am a stay at home mom and don't get out much.

I would love to do something like this.

Do you have to spend a lot of money?
I think we can best understand through the words of Dwight from The Office....



"I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then, my life was so great I literally wanted a second one. Absolutely everything was the same... except I could fly."



That is the reason people play itWhat is the psychology behind the addiction of the online game Second Life?
not trying to make a Sterotype, but they proberly Live in their moms basement, haven't showed in a week.. REALLLY THIKKKKKK glasses... rotten teeth.. (this is a maybe) but still most, big bellies. Bucket of KFC and PLAYBOY beside them.. don't sleep much... have low self confidence apart from online.. don't get out. seperated them self from societiy.. Haven't seen a girl out sude their family in real life, walk up to him and talk.. in MONTHS maybe YEARS... hunch back.. really screws you up, i saw the game on the news (about Virtual Pedophiles) and thought this should be funny (im 13) and saw all pics of virtual naked women. i was like WTF!!.. boring.. then deleted it.. and went to friends house..
Many people aren't happy with their life. And no, this is not just big fat losers living with their mom at age 40. Pretty much everyone in the world is dissatisfied with their real life in some way.

People that use this game are probably often people that are not satisfied with their real life, and this game gives them the opportunity to create another one. A world where it is easier to make money, easier to make friends, and where nobody judges you on your looks. It is much easier for people who are shy in real life to talk to people on the internet.



Even if this game is just a virtual representation of the real world, it is still a form of escapism. There is nothing wrong with this, really, as largely positive things come out of it for the people involved.
omfg



I am so sick of people asking the same stupid questions about Second Life over and over and over again.



Its free to download, and free to play.



Instead of wondering, or judging, just try it.



You'll either like it, or you won't.



No biggie!



http://www.my-linker.com/hop/JoinSecondL鈥?/a>