Diva Blogs SL

Somewhere, deep inside me, lurks a frustrated social psychologist. Yes, I know, the pioneering vanguard of Second Life includes bleeding-edge technology gurus, design wizards and the occasional person seeking another life simply because their First Life hasn't turned out so hot. But now, as we grow to include more and more of a general cross-section of society, some of us "people people"' will sneak in here underneath the radar.

I notice things, like:

• When we get together with friends in world, we all sit down to chat. Why? Are you afraid your feet will get tired?
• Raise your hand if you get a drink and a snack when you go to an in-world party.
• Do you lock the doors of your house when you're not in world, even if you don't have private items around and realize that no one can steal any of your stuff? Why?

What fascinates me so much is the ways in which the society, relationships, economy, manners, customs and rituals of Second Life resemble (or don't) the RL in which we live when the grid is down. Second Life is a place where we can create a "self" in any fashion or form that we care to. What affects the level to which the persona we each create in SL resembles ourselves? Do we take on the character that we aspire to be? Do we bring our "real" selves into SL? Do we let the anonymity of SL give us the freedom to behave in a way that we would be ashamed to admit in RL?