General comparisons between the Real Life and Second Life:




Tangible

In the real world most of what we rely on is our five senses, which are smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing. Living without those senses is impossible in the real world. Even as children we rely on especially touch and taste to develop and learn. Every tangible object has a texture and is a matter we can touch. Meaning we can touch simple things as ourselves, other people, and just general objects; and this is how we have learnt that they are real.


Intangible

In Second Life we can only rely on one, maybe two of our senses which would be sight and hearing, and of course our knowledge of the world around us.
Although hearing is not really essential, it gives us the opportunitiy to experience the music and the movies available in SL. Because it is Virtual and the computer is basically taking over the rest of our senses we don’t need them and maybe are in danger in the future of loosing or under developing the other senses, if we are not careful. All in all it just makes life on SL easier and more comfortable. As because you cant touch anything with your body you can not really hurt yourself.
So in a way we cant call it real in the way that we are only there in mind and not with our body. We can only experience things with our eyes and minds, which in some ways is just as real but not in the sense that we can feel it, touch.



Real World: Physical boundaries

In the real world we live in all of us are confined to Physical boundaries. Especially when it comes to our body’s. There is a limit of what our body’s can physically do. It varies from body to body, from person to person what the boundaries are but mainly there are a few simple rules in this world which can not be defined by our bodies. For example we can not fly without help. We can not jump off a 10 story building and just walk away unhurt. If we do have a disability, for example not being able to walk or move our bodies, there is hardly anything we can do about it.(Wheelchair concept) We just have to live with the limits given by gravity and our body’s. we can inhance them by training for example to run faster, get stronger or climb mountains, but as an overall rule, there are boundaries we just can not cross, or overcome unless with outside help and we have to get used to it and live with what we have been given.









Second Life: NO physical boundaries

In Second Life, as in many other Virtual Realities or Games, we can overcome those boundaries by using our computer and the programme to help. Of course this is all virtual and not actually possible in real life but it gives us the chance to do things with our Avatars which we aren’t able to do in Real Life. Here we can fly, walk, run, dance, jump off building without hurting ourselves or dying. We can even teleport us to different places if we wish to do so.
It is made to suit our imaginations, our dreams, which can not be put into action in the real world. Of course again we can only experience it in our minds and only our virtual counterparts can do the actual stunts, but we are still experiencing it, even if it is just with our minds. There are no gravity rules as such so we are free to cross over certain boundaries, which can give us an insight as well, as how it might be if we were able to do it in real life.


Real World: Technical Barriers

In the real world we do more so now then ever rely on technical support. Even if you would take away all technical items in this world away from us we would still be able to survive, as our ancestors used to do anyway. Of course in our society which mainly relies on technology we would still be able to function. For example if our car would brake down, and we had to go somewhere, there are the options of taking a bus, walking, getting a tube and so on. We even could go back further and use animals to help us get to where we want to go. Technology is only there really to simplify our lives and make them easier for us. But it is not really essential for us to survive.







Second Life: Techinical Barriers

In a Virtual world such as SL if there is a technical problem, such as maybe the internet connection or if there is something wrong with the programme itself, for example a virus or so, our Avatars will not be able to do anything. Because this is made of technology it relys on it. If you for example had a business in SL and the whole server went down, or your computer shuts down you are not able to earn money or do anything at all. There is always the danger of something like that happening. Something which can get in the way. I guess because these worlds and especially SL rely on the internet, there is so much that can and probably will go wrong at some point. In order to survive as an Avatar we need technology to work non stop and perfectly, otherwise we will vanish.




Real Life: Time and Space

In real life there is time and space and it is confined in hours, minutes, days, months and so on. We have certain things we have to do everyday in order to keep ourselves alive, or occupied, apart from sleeping there is no real ‘time-out’. Most of us have jobs, tasks, chores, school, university, college to keep us busy and occupied. And if you don’t turn up on time, or not at all, there will be consequences. Our bodies need sleep, some more than others so we have to organize ourselves around it, so we can lead a ‘normal’ life. Time keeping in our society today is essential. Buses go at certain times, so do trains and tubes. Jobs start at certain times, and you can not just go and disappear without any consequences. Even on holiday we have to keep to certain time limits, we might only have one week to relax or more, and we have to catch flights, go shopping during the times the shops are open and so on. Time never stops for you, it always moves on.
The same with time, we live in the year of 2007 and we can not, unless watching it on screen or read about it, teleport ourselves to another time. The only way we can experience, for example London in the 1800’s is by reading about it or watching a film or documentary. Never can we travel in time, neither forwards nor backwards. Well at least not yet.
We are confined to the space which we call our world, the earth. Of course there are people fortunate enough to travel to the moon or into space but generally speaking we live within the space given to us by our world.
Also there is only so much space in the world and it doesn’t matter how large it is, there is a boundary and we can not make it bigger. It has its limits of space and time.
















Second Life: Time and Space

In Second Life such things as time and space don’t matter too much. As it is a virtual space, space is not defined as it is in the real world. Neither is time. Of course SL has its own times and we can experience night and day, there is a difference of how to relate to it. Of course if you have a job on there or a business going you have to manage your time, in meeting people and setting up meetings, but all this relates back to the real world, as time there is much more significant and precious.
In terms of business and meetings and jobs, time there matters just as much as in the real world, as the concept is taking over from it.
But if you are just there to meet people and don’t have any real obligations time on there doesn’t really matter. And if you log off for a couple of days or weeks it doesn’t really matter. The world maybe has changed and developed but it isn’t essential for you to be there. Time in that sense does not matter, it is not substantial.
Space is also different. Although SL is a confined space online, it can and does change its virtual space to accompany all the residence and their need for space. There is no such thing as continents and also there is no limit as such. It can be expanded if needed and space does not matter as much as it does in the real world. Also here we can re-create the past and might even be able to create the future, however this might look like.
There are Islands which are the copy of historical cities such as Paris in the 1900’s, where your Avatar can live the life of someone during that time. So again there are no such things as confined spaces and times, as such. As it says it is our world and our imagination. Whatever people want to create, they can, as long as they have the knowledge and the money to do so.
Real Life: Body: shapes, forms and sizes

In the real world all of us have certain genes which determine how we look like, how our bodies are shaped, what hair and eye colour we have got, how big our feet are and so on. Apart from identical twins, and even those, are all unique in some ways. We all have our set body shapes and sizes. No one really looks the same. Of course with the technology and knowledge of our bodies and medicine we can enhance our bodies and modify them, but only to a certain extent. We have to stay in our human shape, that we can not change. Pretty much everything else in today’s world we can change. With Plastic Surgery, make up, high heels, clothes, and colouring our hair, we can make ourselves look like others or make ourselves even more unique. But this is only possible if you have enough money to pay for all of it. If you haven’t there isn’t much really you can do, apart from getting a certain hair cut, make up and other simple things, which aren’t too expensive. It is up to us, but as I mentioned there are only certain things we can change or enhance but we can not change into something else other than a human being.
Well only mentally that is of course.
Second Life: Body: shapes, forms and sizes

Being part of a Virtual Reality, here we can be whatever, whoever we want. It is up to our imagination. We can make ourselves look like whatever we want. Have the hair we want, have the shape we want. Anything is possible. There are no boundaries. You can be a dog, a monster, a vampire, a lion or anything else than comes to your mind. You can project whatever you want into your Avatar, no one cares, and it is your choice. And for most of it you don’t even need money for it to do so. An Avatar can basically be a virtual image of yourself or and image of how you would like to be. Also if for some reason you get bored of it or want to try something new, you can just do it. No problem whatsoever. No boundaries, no limits. This gives you a choice which you never really had or have in the real world to begin with.



























Real Life: Money and Basic Needs

In our society today money is essential for us to survive. We need money for food, drink, shelter, clothes and other basic needs. Without money in our Western World we could not survive very long. Therefore we rely on our jobs, parents, the government to provide us with it, so we can fulfil our needs. Of course what everyone needs is up to the standard of living one is used to but the basics just as I mentioned above are essential. So here having a job to earn money is essential and we have to live our lives around it. Our standard of living is also based on how much money is available to us. Some have more, some have less, but we rely on it to be there and can not do without it.
It might be different in other countries around the world who don’t really depend on money as much as we do but in general the world is based on money and if there wasn’t any, whole systems would collapse.
Second Life: Money and no real basic needs

Money in my eyes has a complete different purpose in SL. Here our Avatars don’t know any of the basic needs we have. They don’t need to eat, they don’t need shelter, or a place to sleep in. This doesn’t really matter here. Money here is just a means so you can enhance the lifestyle of your Avatar, which has nothing to do with basic needs only material things. Which if one looks at it are not really materialistic only face as we in the real world are not able to make any use of it whatsoever. Some people who aren’t familiar with the concept of SL might wonder why one might spent money on a phone, clothes, house or car which they are not even able to use in real life. I guess for some that is unimaginable, especially if one in the real world has not much money available to them. But again there is a choice, one doesn’t need to buy those things, doesn’t need money to survive in SL or experience stuff. It is all a choice. So is making money, starting a business there, or even having a job. It might be fun, lucrative and enjoyable but it is not essential. There is the freedom of living without money. To be free of it and do whatever you want, without worrying about money.












Real Life: Love, Sex and Relationships

In real life love, sex and especially relationships are hard to find, and always difficult to maintain, even without virtual worlds. The way we form our relationships, with friends family and friends, we do the way we were brought up to do. We learn while we are growing up and older. Here in love and sex, appearance does matter and might complicate things. The way we look act and project ourselves to others effects the way we find someone to suit our needs. Everyone of us has certain needs when it comes to love sex and relationships. Society of course plays a big part in it as well, as much as anything really of what is excepted and what is not. Race, Homosexuality, Sexuality, Fetishes and so on are boundaries which some might not want to cross, or cant. Here we have to be careful of how people see us, and think about us. We have to be self conscious the whole time and might not be able to get the person we want, for different reasons. In our society looks are really important, even if some people might disagree with us, but looks are important no matter what anyone says.

Second Life: Love, Sex and Relationships

Here you can be who ever you want, whatever you want as I have established above. On SL you can have sex and form relationships, even find love and get married. But because it is a virtual world, you might never meet the person you are married to on SL in RL. You can pretend to be anyone you want and woe someone else you might think looks attractive to you( I mean the Avatar).
If you can really fall in love with someone you have never seen in real life, or will probably never meet because this person lives on the other side of the world, doesn’t really matter. It can happen but is it really love if you don’t know how this person is in real life? You are only falling in love with a Virtual Character created by someone sitting behind a computer screen. Maybe as well as you pretending to be someone they are not.
But leaving that up to the choice to the individual there is still the sex to consider. Again, you as a person leading your Avatar through this world are not able to feel it actually having it the first place. So what is the fun in watching a virtual figure you create having sex with another one?? Well everyone has different fantasies and ideas about sexual arousal, so I don’t want to be the judge of that but all in all, you can not really feel, or show emotion which life itself is all about really. Touch, smell and taste are denied to you.