Cohen: Could grass be greener on the virtual side?
The Internet, though popular, is no substitute for real life.
By Ben Cohen
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) once called the internet a “series of tubes,” one which one cannot “dump something on.” To others, it is “serious business.” To a select few others, it is something they invented. For the record, these select few others might be Al Gore.
To me, it is both my favorite research tool and the all-time great distraction. Databases like JStor have saved my life on multiple occasions since I started college, with its endless articles from academic publications that I never knew existed. Of course, I’ve also found myself devoting unnecessary amounts of time to things like Facebook, fantasy football and animals with funny quotes. Who knew that walruses love buckets so much?
I don’t have anything against the existence of sites and programs like Second Life. What’s disturbing is the idea that some people see them as a replacement for real life.
What worries me about the Internet is how attached people can get to what it brings them. Last semester, I had a class all about emerging forms of media, which I quickly discovered was code for “popular social networking sites.” We had a brief unit on a program called “Second Life.” Being at least somewhat familiar with the concept of the MMORPG (massive multi-player role-playing game), I was not all that impressed with what amounted to World of Warcraft with less cave trolls and more CNN clips.
A guest lecturer who spoke to my class insisted that “Second Life” was not a game, but rather an actual world like the one we live in now. He challenged us to explain how this was not true. Even though I held my tongue in class, it was tempting to mention how people in this “First Life” cannot fly, teleport or buy private islands for $50. It didn’t help that the lecturer showed us his avatar, which, in case you are a lame First Lifer like me, is a representation of the player. The avatar was well dressed and had good posture, but it also happened to be an anthropomorphized fox. Call me old-fashioned, but I have a hard time calling a program that only exists in glowing boxes where people can transform into well-groomed forest animals a “real” world.
He also told the class that Second Life has its own economy, and you can spend real First Life money. By this logic, any Web site that uses PayPal is taking the first step toward being its own reality.
I don’t have anything against the existence of sites and programs like Second Life. What’s disturbing is the idea that some people see them as a replacement for real life. On the Internet people tend to portray themselves as better looking, more intelligent and, evidently, fox-like, but all of that can easily be ruined by a power outage or your cat walking across the keyboard.
I do love spending time writing goofy messages on my friends’ Facebook walls, as opposed to actually calling them and seeing if they want to hang out, or having long conversations on Instant Messenger with people I see all the time. It is fun, and a good way to stay sane while working on 10-page research papers.
Still, First Life aka “the real world,” or “that scary place on the other side of the foyer” offers things that aren’t worth skipping out on for pixels and a fake life. Like the sun, for instance. Or better yet, real people. They may not be talking foxes, but they still tend to be pretty interesting. On a side note, if you are starting to hear foxes talk to you in real life, please seek help. Or turn off the computer, because it’s starting to take over you.
Cohen is a Topeka junior in English and political science.
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