Avatar.. avaricious... I feel a hostile vibration!

Here's my avatar. I have a bat on my head.

My thoughts regarding virtual selves vs. our “real” selves: I would like to think that these virtual worlds let us try on new personas, lead us to new insights about ourselves, and on to enlightenment. However, I think it's interesting that in the virtual world, a lot of the women are parading around in bikini tops, while there are a certain number of men that are clearly on steroids or else "guitar heroes". I didn't see anybody who looked like the Dalai Lama. I have to admit that I think this is a way to escape one's own self and live out some media-created idea of the "right" way to be. I think it's better to come to terms with ones self and accept life. If life is really bad for someone, (chronic pain, terminal illness, whatever) then why not float off and be some kind of jungle vixen or Indiana Jones to while away your time. But I don't think it makes your unplugged reality any better. I think it's like other addictions: you feel pretty good while you're out of your body, but once you come back, you've just sat in a chair doing nothing for an hour, and you're even farther from being the jungle vixen.

Answer these questions in your post as well.

Do you already live in Second Life? No.

If you don’t already live in SL, would you like to live in Second Life? If there were a holodeck I could wander off into, I'd do that. However, I don't want to strain my eyes and sit in a chair staring at a computer screen. It is pretty mind-blowing to try to project into the future and wonder how close we are to the holodeck. However, if the holodeck is full of jungle vixens and guitar heroes, no thanks.

Why or why not? There's a saying: "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." I think both the self-actualization AND the wood-chopping are good for human beings. I think living in the computer world is a kind of limbo or stasis or vacuum in which neither enlightenment nor wood-chopping happens. Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but you asked. :-)