Dear Mr. Bainbridge,
I really liked your article The Scientific Research Potential of Virtual Worlds. It made me look at Second Life in a whole new
light, and I realized that it serves a lot of other purposes rather than just
entertainment. I was a bit surprised by
the statistics presented in your article that 6.5 million people have entered Second
Life. I had never even heard of Second
Life before this, so the fact that this technology has been so popular is news
to me. I liked that you mentioned that
most virtual players are in fact adults, and have a wide variety of occupations
and characteristics. This debunks the
myth that the only people who spend time in SL and WoW are children and teens. Meeting others virtually has now almost become
the norm.
Unfortunately, the popularity of the virtual world
lessens face to face time, which I believe is more effective. From my few experiences on Second Life, I noticed
that conversations were delayed and talking to others did not seem as personal
in character form. When meeting
virtually, there is some type of barrier that is absent in face to face
interaction, and it could make someone seem even further away.
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