Somebody told me…
That I should get back in the “real world”. I’m sorry, but I am just as much in the real world as people who don’t play, and I’ll tell you why…
People sit around on their chairs and couches watching tv most of the day. If I sit, I’m not just watching in Second Life. I’m creating things, shopping, taking classes, talking to my friends, enjoying scenic locations and etc. I have real people behind the avatars – I’m not keeping track of celebrities and living live vicariously through them. They are just as real as Facebook friends that one never sees.
If I feel the need for shopping therapy, I can do it much cheaper in Second Life than in real life, and it only clutters my inventory, not my real life home. I tried the “real world” way and that didn’t work out too well. Saves money on gas too – I can “teleport” to shopping in Second Life and not have to get out of my pajamas. Of course there’s always online shopping in real life if I really need something I can wait a few days for.
I can “live” in a huge house on a huge piece of property in Second Life. Something I can’t (and don’t want to) do in “real” life. Several, as a matter of fact – some in fantastical locations. Another thing that “real” life doesn’t offer.
And in real life, I still go out to lunch, go to church, go out into nature every so often and do things like hiking and kayaking. I still do all the normal things normal people do. Just because I have a second life I enjoy does not take away anything from my real life, except maybe massive amounts of tv time. Which is a waste these days anyway.
And there are millions like me. 
The “grid” survey is about land, not numbers of people. If you follow the link, you can see how the population runs. Many don’t own land there and just wander from place to place hanging out where their friends are. They can do that for free. There are lots of renters who rent “sims” (virtual land) from places like I am starting to do and build their homes there.
And we’re worldwide, while most people never talk to anyone from another country. I don’t talk to many people (too busy) but I have talked to people from at least six countries.
No see, if I get old and lose the power of my legs and knees and hips, I still have a life where I can go talk to people outside my current sphere, go places to visit, make a home, etc. While they’ll be stuck staying home much of the time. I did home care for people without a 2nd life, and I have seen what it is like – and it’s not for me.
They say if someone can’t accept who you are, it’s time to find new friends. I see it as a defense against that which they do not know, haven’t experienced. It’s just as valid a place as Facebook – maybe more so, because you can be totally yourself and not worry about it affecting your personal life where you live very much. Being left out of certain worlds means you have to see it as being not as good as what you live. It’s a human trait to defend against the unknown.
I’m not “left out” of the real world. I just prefer having fun in Second Life to sitting home watching massive amounts of TV. (Oh and I can still do that in Second Life – we have TVs that work as far as watching Youtube and any other internet television channel. I usually use Tubi. I’ve watched Spotify channels on a Second Life tv – but no longer need it.
As long as I have my mind and the ability to type, I can live the life I choose. And currently I choose to look after my holdings and my store, and make a beautiful coffee table to sell. And then dance… in BOTH lives.
This is Laughing Sugar Gallery, my store; my business partner created the building for me (and wrote the gallery name in sugar crystals on the windows). It’s in a lovely beach area and has enough room for me to put a little cafe in the back. Down below the deck there are beach towels for laying around and a little cabana. I plan to put in more stuff as time goes by. There’s also a small model of the tiny home my partner made which is available inside the store – as well as things I have created and photographs I have taken as wall decor.
I can’t do all that in real life – too many rules, too many taxes, too much trouble getting from place to place. I can do it online (and plan to once I get rid of this house!) in online stores, designing items that can be put out: cups, t-shirts, etc. with designs I come up with.
Yes it’s true if the Second Life “grid” goes down or out of business, I could lose all that. But there are ways around that too. As long as there is internet, people run their own grids out of their computers. I’ve seen several others like Second Life, but just not as large. And I can do all the same things within my own computer as well. There is free stuff online for the “hypergrid” and a whole business built around that just like the Second life market place. I can’t transfer things that other people have made into my own grid, but I can transfer the things I have made and remake items similar to what other people have made. The more things I can make myself, the safer I am as far as the life I create.
If it should happen that there is no ability to use a computer, everyone is going to be in the same boat anyway as many television channels will disappear and phones won’t work. (As in an EMP attack.) In that case, there will be no ability to buy fuel for your car so everyone will be stuck at home mostly anyhow. And banking will be out of reach. It’ll be like when the derecho came, only worse, because no internet connected payment systems will work.
So go ahead, make fun my online world – while not realizing how connected to the internet you really are… 🙂