Second Life

Second Life is an Internet-based virtual environment, a virtual world, created in 2003 by American company Linden Research, Inc., more commonly known as Linden Lab. It became increasingly popular following extensive media coverage in late 2006 and early 2007. With the use of a free computer program called the Second Life Viewer, the virtual world is accessible to any person who has a broadband Internet connection and sufficient computer performance. A graphical representation of the self, an avatar, is used to participate in Second Life. Participants are commonly referred to as “residents.” Both the virtual environment and the avatars are rendered with three-dimensional graphics similar to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft. However, contrary to such games where most graphics are provided by game designers, Second Life consists mainly of user-created content. The Second Life Viewer allows residents to create basic geometrical shapes. These shapes can be combined in infinite ways to create complex virtual objects and are decorated with textures uploaded through the Viewer. Scripts can also be embedded into the objects to make them interactive and increase their functionality. Some of the more common objects are avatar accessories, houses, furniture, and vehicles. Second Life has its own economy and currency referred to as Linden dollars (L$). Linden dollars are acquired either by exchange for U.S. dollars (or other real-world currencies) or by selling virtual objects, virtual land, or services to other residents in Second Life. Some residents are successful in their virtual business ventures, but the majority spend more than they earn. Yet the market has primarily been driven by residents. Several real-world companies have attempted to establish themselves in Second Life, but with limited success.

Though Second Life has a flourishing gift economy, production and consumption are central to Second Life culture. As the virtual products are not necessary for the survival of the avatar or the person controlling the avatar, their popularity has raised questions about motives behind, and usefulness of, their consumption. It would appear that Second Life is a striking example of Jean Baudrillard's dystopic vision of consumer society, in which people are caught up in a spectacle of symbols and alienated from their own needs. However, the lack of use value in virtual goods does not imply that their consumption is irrational or useless. According to Jennifer Martin, virtual objects, as representations of status, individuality, and belonging, hold significant meaning to those who use them. In consumer culture, our body is our primary vehicle of identity and self-expression, posits Mike Featherstone. This appears to be the case for virtual bodies as well. Virtual-world participants are often greatly distressed when their avatars are lost, harmed, or otherwise compromised. This phenomenon is referred to as “avatar attachment,” and arguments have been made that it should be accorded the moral significance we give to real-life attachments that play a similar role (Wolfendale 2007). This raises questions related to governance and the precarious conditions of ownership offered to participants in Second Life and other virtual worlds. The purchase of virtual items may appear [Page 1253]more permanent than real-life purchases because, for example, a virtual lipstick will not fade and virtual clothes do not wear out. All the same, ownership of the items and indeed one's very existence in the virtual world are dependent on the goodwill (or profit margins) of the virtual-world creators to keep the world running.

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