Hi! I’m Dina; a junior Bio major, concentrating in nutrition. I like to take long moonlit walks on the beach..........just kidding. But I do like eating fish (SUSHI). My favorite color is green, although I’m not Irish, but I was born on St. Patty’s Day. I watch Ali G like it’s my job and Law & Order too. I’m not that great with computers and technology in general. I pretty much just use what I need: facebook, youtube, aim, google and Microsoft word and definitely my e-mail!
So, yesterday I opened my homepage and I saw this article on having an “online wife”. The article is about a married couple who are having marital problems associated with an online game called “Second Life”, which is a type of “metaworld”. Second Life is a virtual world built and owned by its online resident avatars. So it is real people playing the game and interacting with other real people through online characters. It seems similar to the game SIMS. But in Second Life the characters can be made to look like real people and act like real people. They go through the day like real people, going to work, shopping, and even mowing the lawn. You can buy, sell and trade digital merchandise with other players. The Linden dollar is used in this game to buy merchandise, but you must convert the Linden dollar to US dollars before making a purchase. So you are actually spending real money in order to create and live in this cyber world. You can buy a house, clothing, food, etc. There was even someone arrested (in real life) for stealing virtual items from other players. The US congress is even considering ways that these virtual economies can be taxed.
The man in this article was playing this game for up to 14 hours at a time. He had a wife and a job as a nightclub owner in this game. This man claims that it’s harmless and it’s only a game, but his real wife is claiming that her husband is cheating on her. So is having an online wife adultery? And what is the appeal of spending your whole day in this cyber world (which costs real money)?
I wouldn’t go as far as calling it adultery. But it could be considered possibly an emotional affair or maybe abandonment, depending on how addicted one is to the game. Spending 14 hours on a game where you communicate with real virtual people, instead of paying attention to your real wife is definitely not being a good husband. Spending so much time talking to this online wife could defiantly results in emotional ties being formed, which could escalate to an actual real physical affair if they decide to meet in person. And then that would be adultery. Some people might ask how is playing a cyber game for hours different then watching TV for hours. Well, I think that in this cyber game you are interacting with real people online so emotional connections are made in contrast to watching TV. But what if this man plays another cyber game besides Second Life and has another online wife….then is he cheating on all three of them? Weird!!!
I don’t really understand the appeal of this game Second Life. It could be fun if you play once in a while but it seems like this man is addicted. He is living out his fantasies in this make believe land. He is clearly unhappy with his life and trying to compensate. It’s unfair to his wife and it’s really sad. He needs to get a real life pronto!
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2 comments:
I think you kind of touched upon the appeal of Second Life towards the end of your post. People are always critical of themselves, looking at what others have that they themselves don't. We are curious what it would be like if we could shape our identity and surroundings exactly how we see fit, in the hopes that it will make our lifestyle more pleasant and satisfying. It's much easier to do this sort of thing in a virtual environment than it is in real life. Even if we cannot experience the fruits of our labor in the physical world, metaworlds at least give you a taste of what it _could_ be like -- and that, in and of itself, gratifies the player.
Dina, definitely agree with what you have to say about this. Adultery seems a little drastic but the guy definitely sounds like he is more into this digital world more so than the world he actually lives in. I do like what will said though. If we can't have a taste of it in the real world, a virtual world is the closest thing we have. I guess this game would be fun in mediocrity but if it becomes addicting that's when the game gets out of hand.
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