Gettin' Some Second Life Lovin'

This past week, we discussed the common use of virtual online communities. One of the communities, in particular, Second Life, seemed to be all about making money, making friends, making whole a virtual life for yourself. This really led me to wonder about relationships in these types of communities and their impact.

I was not surprised to find just how much emotional and physical impact these relationships caused. One of the most important themes I found in this topic was extramarital affairs.

I read one particular report done by MSNBC that asked Is a virtual affair real-world infidelity? The article read through different relationships, the troubles, and the stories that came about due to extramarital online relationships. I clipped out some interesting excerpts to give you all a small glimpse on the report.

According to one of the men, “With Second Life, there wasn't the fear of a real-life physical attachment,” he says. “The fear of someone calling me up at home.”

According to the report, Sam, another man who was married and with a family, but having an online affair, "at some point, Sam’s in-world relationship with Kat began to intrude on his real life. A recent family vacation was punctuated by furtive Second Life meetings with his avatar girlfriend.There was a breakup, a half-hearted reconciliation and a final breakup. What Sam didn’t expect, he says, is how much the virtual breakup would affect him. Plenty of people, though, initiate in-game romances because they’re seeking something that’s lacking in their real-life relationship."

And in yet another instance, there is the story of Max. According to the article, "within six months of signing up for Second Life, Max’s wife was spending up to eight hours a day online — and even more on the weekends. Max says he found out later that his wife and her avatar boyfriend were having drinks together — in his house — via Web cam. Max went on Google and started doing some detective work. To his amazement, he learned that his wife had married her in-world boyfriend in Second Life."

It seemed obvious that online relationships could intrude in people's real lives, however, I never imagined I would read such stories. This is still a fairly new format of interpersonal communication which adds a whole new dimension to our lives. I think this is really interesting, in that it shows how people are very receptive to online communication. Now, I know that blogging, may not be as interpersonal as Second Life can be, but, this leads me to wonder in just how trusting people can be when receiving information and opinions online and if this is reflective on the concept of new influencers.