Second Life is for freaks

To most people, who've never explored one, Second Life, Entropia Universe and other virtual worlds are a freakshow. The weird and wonderful avatars are just weird and the people they represent are thought to be social lepers in real life.

The view is that Second Life detracts from your first life.

A parallel could be drawn with attitudes to gaming in the early nineties, when adults who played computer games were dismissed as geeks. Playstation's classic TV spot Double Life captured the subversive nature of gameplay. It's still one of my favourite ads ever.



Playstation: Double Life

Now mums around the world are the people most likely to play online casual games and Nintendo's Wii has made console gaming ubiquitous.

Virtual worlds will, I believe, also reach a 'tipping point' when they're seen to enhance your social life. Web users are already 'getting' social networks like Facebook - and virtual worlds have a strong social networking component. In time, people will get that virtual and real lives needn't be separate at all. In fact, kids are already demonstrating this.

Virtual worlds like Whyville, Habbo Hotel, Webkinz and Club Penguin have kids and teens in their thrall.

Webkinz screenshot

Real cuddly toys kids are given for Christmas come to life in the Webkinz world. Children set up home, take care of their pets, with the help of happy meters and hunger meters and chat and play with other owners.



Whyville screenshot

Whyville residents learn about science, the environment and money management and go round in Toyota's Scion cars. They can write for the town newspaper or take a helicopter tour of the world.

Needless to say, many kids, for whom the highlight of the week may be a trip to the skatepark, followed by pizza, excellent as both may be, find that virtual worlds offer a new level of freedom.




In the US, in 2007, nearly a quarter of Internet users aged 3 to 17 used virtual worlds at least once a month, eMarketer reports and strong growth is predicted.

Kids who've grown up using virtual worlds won't have the same prejudices older generations have towards these environments. The future of the Internet is entwined with virtual worlds. The semantic web will be something like a mix of a hypercharged Google Earth with all the information on the net in rich context.

Why not take a trip with Synthtravels, the virtual world travel agency and begin exploring? (It can be hard to find the action if you take a cursory look without a guide, as populations are still relatively small.) Whether you're interested in fashion, architecture, thrills, or you're just curious, there's a tour for you. Go on, hang down with the freaks and ghouls!