Second life or Sad life?

The question whether second life is good or bad is debatable.  Second life has many distinct positive and negative features.

Second life launched in 2003. Second life is a virtual world where ‘residents’ can explore the world known as the grid, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS6Gfs-wavo

http://maps.secondlife.com/

Second life can be seen as a useful tool for people to interact with others, if they are too shy to do so in the real world. It can be used by people who may have had a serious accident which would prevent them to carry out their life ambitions. Businesses within second life include- 

• American apparel- opened a branch inside the virtual world selling digital renderings of clothing modeled after real-life merchandise.
• American Cancer Society- has held a version of its Relay For Life national fundraising event inside Second Life.
• BBC radio- recreated the 2006 One Big Weekend event on a 64-acre 260,000 m² virtual island in Second Life.
• Dell- sell PC's in second life.
• Mazda- Give away their concept car Hakaze on Nagare Island and is presenting kite surfing
• Second life police- a law Enforcement type group that has a partnership with Linden Labs to protect the MMORPG from trolls and griefers.

Anshe Chung is second life’s first ‘virtual Millionaire.’ She is a ‘virtual real estate broker and made 2 Million dollars in 30 months. Anshe Chung is the main avatar (online personality) of Ailin Graef in the online world Second Life. Referred to as the "Rockefeller of Second Life" by a CNN journalist, she has built an online business that engages in development, brokerage, and arbitrage of virtual land, items, and currencies, and has been featured in a number of prominent magazines such as Business Week, Fortune and Red Herring.

Second life can be a fun and entertaining game for users. It can also benefit users as they can make money in the virtual world which can create a profit for them in the real world. The second life currency “Linden” can be exchanged for US dollars and other currencies if users want to exchange the money. People who have trouble socialising in the real world can also socialise in second life. Many users have found friends, partners and even had marriages result from second life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TLStfPI7o8

http://secondlife.com/destinations/romance/romance_spots

Sex is also a frequently encountered in second life. Access the adult sections requires age verification, however there is a thin line, and ages can be inaccurate which brings up the topic of underage sex and pedophile which is a big issue in second life.

Second life has been referred to as ‘a game where desperate people with no lives or friends get to live out their dreams of social acceptance and sex.”

Second life has also been described as “A virtual world in which a desperately lonely person can adopt an alter ego and live out an utterly pointless existence every bit as mundane as their non-virtual life. The "noughties" version of Dungeons and Dragons but without the trolls and orcs. A baffling and ultimately sad indictment of how people interact today.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tqB5_OyGiIo

The quote on the second life website "Be yourself, love your life" is sweet but it’d referring to your ‘second life’ so what happens when people prioritize their virtual life over there real life?, Can it truly makes your life better? Second life users can challenge their personal identity and are entering a phase of post humanism/cyborgs. Post humanism is the use of technology changes into someone who is no longer human. Users who dedicate their lives to their second life avatar and ignore their first/real life can certainly be placed in this category.

I can see how second life has some positive features, people can socialize for free and have fun. However, it is my opinion that the game can create more harm than good. I think it is really sad when people begin for prioritise their virtual lives over their real lives. I really don't see the appeal. When people log on every now and then for some harmless fun or entertainment I don't see the problem, but when others are using it for their main source of social interaction and to try and make friends/lovers then it is a massive problem, and quite frankly really sad!