For this assignment I chose to explore Second Life. I heard about it through Comm245, then saw it on The Office and wanted to see what it was all about. After entering the Second Life world, I found that it was relatively confusing. There was no real guideline for what you were supposed to do and I was among others on the Orientation Island that were unsure of what to do as well. When I first came into Second Life it took me to a place where I had to complete a few tasks like learning how to move and to communicate. After this they set me free to explore the rest of the world where I learned to fly and teleport to a different location. I found the most people on the public Orientation Island, where people were basically standing in a circle either keeping to themselves or talking to one another.
For my avatar, I chose to be a tall, harsh-looking, and unapproachable female. I wore all black and had black hair. While walking through the island, I had to approach others in order to talk to them. All around me other people were engaged in conversation but there was not one instance where someone came and talked to me. When I approached people, I realized that I only approached males and even then we only had short conversations where I told them I was new and asked what to do before they walked away. I found myself scared to approach people because I had no idea how they would react to me or think of me but I thought they would be turned off by my appearance. I think in order to really engage in this world I would have to spend a significantly greater amount of time there. The hour I spent there was definitely not enough to allow me to grasp even a small portion of what it has to offer.
My experience in Second Life is in line with Yee’s idea of the Proteus Effect, where I behaved in a manner that I thought others expected me to behave. I was not overly friendly and although I tried to strike up some conversations, I wasn’t charming or attractive enough to hold their attention for long. I also made no effort to be attractive in what I was saying because I knew no one would think of me that way. This shows that I had less self-disclosure and also felt more uncomfortable being close to people, which supports Yee’s findings.
However, although my experience supports these aspects, I did not feel more confidence due to my height, which hypothesis 3 says I should. Instead, I felt more awkward and uncomfortable with my body and jealous of the attractive avatars. I towered over the other members by a large margin, which made me feel like an outsider in this world.
Overall, I am glad that I was able to experience a little bit of Second Life. I am also interested in maybe going back on and really exploring what it has to offer. But first I would change my avatar to make myself more attractive and socially acceptable.
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Rachel, your experience on Second Life was practically identical to mine. I was also eager to try out Second Life because of how Dwight talked about it in The Office. Like you, I had a tough time once I was actually in Second Life because I was scared to approach people, and barely anyone approached me. It was funny that people walked away from you after you started conversations with them; that was pretty much what happened to me. I was kind of surprised by the lack of conversation in Second Life—I had expected people to be very friendly and sociable. I also think that you made a good point in saying that you might have become more engrossed in the game if you had spent more time on it and if you had had a more attractive avatar. I guess Dwight is unusual in that he can succeed in Second Life even though he is not particularly attractive. ;)
Hey Rachel,
I went around searching for Dwight for a good chunk of the time that I was on second life. I made it to the NBC island with no luck though. Anyway, your avatar must have been quite intimidating if you were afraid of judgment by the other participants over the internet. You were a prime example of the Proteus effect! I'm sure you would have found people to talk to and spend time given more time, maybe with people who looked and gave off a similar vibe as your avatar did... Great post, I really enjoyed reading it.
I had a similar experience in Second Life. Almost no one approached me and the conversations I struck up with others were really awkward and short. On Orientation Island, there were a bunch of people standing in a circle not talking to each other. It was weird. I had anticipated a much more social and friendly environment. I thought it was interesting how the Proteus effect applied to your experiences so well. My avatar was conventionally attractive, but I didn’t feel like it made much difference in how I interacted with others. You seemed to have the opposite experience.
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