Listening to Philip Rosedale talk about Second Life was very interesting and informative as to why he decided to create this virtual world and why it has become so popular. The idea that it is “a place where anything can happen” seems to be virtually true, because, virtually, anything can happen in this world if you are willing to spend the money and the time developing your ideas. I would like to say though that not “anything” can happen if you are willing to consider our real, non-virtual world, because the only access you can get to this virtual world is through our living world, and although it may be a fun outlet, or even a place to make a living, anything you accomplish there is only going to stay in that world. You can re-build yourself to look just how you want, and you can create a life for yourself in an imaginary world, and you can make virtual friends with thousands of people or ignore them to your heart’s content, but for every minute you spend living in this world, it is a minute that you are not living in the real world. Without discrediting the experience you can enjoy in this virtual world, the fact remains that improving yourself virtually will not make it happen in reality. I can respect games and the Internet and virtual worlds for providing an outlet for creativity, fun, and a unique social experience, but to say that “anything” can happen is misleading and scary.
One of the questions that was asked in the speech was, “Do we come to prefer our digital selves?” This question is the part of virtual reality that really scares me, because I have had friends who have in some ways transitioned out of reality and spend all their time on World of Warcraft, which sounds like it has similarities to Second Life, even though Second Life is not considered a game. I can understand the desire to be alone, yet social and totally imaginary all at the same time, but people truly let their entire lives be consumed by this. Philip Rosedale responded to this question by saying that in some cases we do begin to prefer out digital selves because we are presented with the challenge of surviving in this virtual world and we can start over in many ways to be more creative or social, but even though it seems frightening to think that, it is inevitable. This just makes me think about the Disney Pixar movie Wall-e, and the world that had been created in space where people floated around in chairs all day with a computer screen in front of their faces eating fatty foods, and this was their life. To hear the word ‘inevitable’ in such a related context makes me want to never go on and create a virtual life.
As an artist, I can see the draws of living in a world where you can do anything. It would be fascinating to temporarily visit that world to design and be creative, but I don’t believe that virtual art will ever replace traditional art; there is room for both in this world. I have no desire to be a virtual artist, I really enjoy the physicality of art making; that is why I love wheel working so much. It sounds like Second Life is a great opportunity for new media artists; it just doesn’t fit with my particular way of working or thinking.
