How Relationships Blossom

in Second Life:

Friendships, Romance, and

Professional Relationships

Department of Occupational TherapyJefferson School of Health Professions

Thomas Jefferson UniversityPhiladelphia, PA 19107 USA

What does a SL relationship mean to you?

“An SL girlfriend to me means a fictional character made by a real person, with real feelings, that has shown me the meaning of friendship – although via a computer.”

“…the marriage is a symbol of their RL devotion to each other. ‘He asked to marry me in RL, and until that day comes, this was my way of accepting. It’s a pixelated engagement ring.’”

“I treat online relationships as real ones. Both friendships and new romance. It is the same feelings involved so best to treat those with the same respect as ‘real-life’ experienced feelings. I felt just as sad when a friend quit SL as I did when an RL friend moved away.”

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/SL-Relationships-How-real-are-they-to-you/td-p/858815/page/10

How does a relationship in Second Life blossom?

• Let’s explore and discuss relationship experiences in

Second Life!

• “Life is like an onion…”

• Would you agree?

"In response to the survey question of why participants first came to use

SL,46% said they were curious, followed by 13% meeting people, and

11% for educational purposes” 1

1Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/

index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

How do you pick up on and begin to use SL etiquette?

• Does certain etiquette apply when looking for friendships? Romance? Or just friendly conversation?

Some other interesting statistics

"Over one third of participants (38%) established what they believed to be a close relationship with another avatar on SL."

"Of those relationships considered significant by the respondents, 77% were considered intimate."

Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/

index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

Where in SL have you made connections?

• Are there specific “hotspots” for meeting people?

• Places you know to avoid?

"Eighty-eight percent reported friendships were readily available in

SL through such activities as dancing (62%) and role plays (59%), and a variety of groups (100%), among

others." 1

1Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/

index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

Connections through Forums

• How useful are relationship forums on SL? Do you use them? How do you know what to say?

• Would you ever post something in a newspaper ad?

Meeting Up

• Would you consider meeting your SL connections in RL?

• Any past stories or experiences?

• How does meeting new people in SL compare to meeting new people in RL? How do your feelings differ during each of the types of interactions?

Body image

• Many SL users reported that by using their avatar, they had control over who they were, how they acted, and what they looked like.

• Do you feel that a major benefit of using SL as a social context in having the ability to control who you are, and even change that depending on where you are, whenever you’d like?

“alt avis”

• Who here has 1 or more alt avis?

"Sixty percent of participants indicate belief that SL avatars represent in part the real person”

In the study, 23/30 individuals had more than one avatar

Reserved for exploration of alternative identities, activities, and social contexts

“I don’t want the alts to maintain friendships and stuff like that. They’re usually used to get stuff done.”

Leshed & McLeod, 2012

Anstadt,et. al, 2013, p. 5

Resources• http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/12/second.life.rel

ationship.irpt/index.html

• http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/Romantic-Relationships-in-Second-Life-and-Real-Life/td-p/1913977

• http://galenheron.blogspot.com/2007/09/relationships-partnerships-and-marraige.html

• http://theresecarfagno.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/whats-in-an-sl-relationship/

• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SLetiquettehttp://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/SL-Relationships-How-real-are-they-to-you/td-p/858815/page/10

Resources

Leshed, G. & McLeod, P.L. (2012). “Metaphors for social relationships in 3D virtual worlds”. CSCW. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1454/2626

Anstadt, S. P., Bradley, S., & Burnette, A. (2013). Virtual Worlds: Relationship Between Real Life and Experience in Second Life. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 14(4),http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626