Conclusions - Post One

Throughout the research I have done through these past 7 weeks, I have developed many thoughts, overcome several prejudices, and ultimately came to a conclusion about Second Life, and virtual worlds as a whole.

These worlds will exist until there is technology to allow us to instantaneously be with others, and ultimately, live out our dreams.

Beginning with week one, I encountered many people who were simply gathered in a hub type area, conversing with others both via voice and text.  This showed to me, that this environment was dominantly used as a social hang out.  This area was not a starter zone, and at that point, I was still wearing the initial outfit and look from avatar creation, leading me to be mildly shunned by those around me.  I asked questions and they fell upon deaf ears.  "A Shun is a weapon like a gun.  Segregation, segmentation: These are the themes of shaming and shunning: the pride of class and privilege (Boeke)."  These more advanced members seemed to think that I was unworthy of their attention or assistance, as I had not even made an effort to change my appearance outside of the base options.  This was mildly what I expected, as in previous endeavors within online worlds and games, if you were not "up to snuff", you had no chance of getting in with a good group of players.

Week two went similar to week one, with the main difference being that I had found my way to a beginners area.    This proved to be the turning point for my research a bit later, and people began to acknowledge my presence.  This is also when I began to formulate my ultimate conclusion, which is above the previous paragraph.  I began to witness people interacting more and more, and heard more conversations, notably, one with someone who was using an obviously fake accent.  This is where I discovered the training classes, which are available for new members to learn about customs and creation in a group setting.  This seemed to me to be a fantastic form of social integration, as "peer-based programs bring an increased sense of belonging and social connectedness (mypeer.org)."  While I never got the opportunity to experience one of these classes, I can definitely see the benefit from attending them, as the world is much to vast and full of things to do to simply learn by word of mouth.

Week three saw the transformation from complete newbie to something a little higher, thanks to a kind soul encountered by the name of Valkyrie.  She was one of the very few people who did not seem inconvenienced by my questions, and helped me to understand peoples motivations for joining Second Life.  Again, this contributed to my final conclusion, as knowing the reasoning behind peoples behaviors showed me the justification for the existence of such worlds.  I also began exploring the different customizations available for player avatars, through both the free gear as well as the marketplace, which was covered more in depth in week four.  This world truly allows anyone to be whomever or whatever they would like to be.  The anonymity, I believe, is a tremendous draw to these environments, as it permits individuals the chance to be or act in ways they could never do in real life.

I will continue my analysis of this project tomorrow.

Works cited for today:

Boeke, Richard. "It's No Fun Being Shunned." The Hibbert Assembly. Unitarian Church. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://www.hibbert-assembly.org.uk/Respect/boeke.htm>.

Mypeer.org. "Social Integration Theory." Social Integration Theory. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://mypeer.org.au/planning/what-are-peer-based-programs/theory/social-integration-theory/>.