Virtual Affairs--Real-World Infidelities???

This article was written by a games editor, Kristin Kalning. Kalning describes several intimacies that have occurred through “Second Life.” Second Life is a virtual world in which people can explore a second life by creating animated avatars. Unsurprisingly, users have gotten lost in emotional and intellectual intimacies in Second Life, without thinking of how it affects “real-life” around them.

There are WAY too many examples listed in this article, but to briefly touch on all of the situations… “it’s basically a 3-D avatar having sex with another 3-D avatar… What looks like a hot blonde babe could be a 60-year old man in Milwaukee.” Marriages and families have gone through therapy because of secret meetings with avatar girlfriends and Second Life break-ups. Full details can be found by clicking HERE.

I just thought this article was interesting because it reminds me that the use of the Internet is ever-changing. After learning about how the Internet has evolved during the past 10-15 years, reading about something like this is pretty funny. The early days of the Internet involved people creating newsgroups and forums based on common interest. Then we passed through the dot com era and e-commerce boomed. Now….. now we’re at a point in time where people use the Internet to create virtual worlds and do virtual human-like activities, without fear of real-life physical attachment.

Final question: Is virtual affair real-world infidelity? Or are in-game chats and animated sex just harmless experiments? Answers to these questions will vary, but ultimately, I believe that things will only go as far as you let them. “If you play with fire, you better be prepared to deal with the flames.”