Freedom of Expression and Social Norms in the Second Life - Essay Example

Dual existence both in real life and in virtual world has become a lifestyle as well as a necessity in the modern world. An appreciable number of people spend large a lot of time in the virtual world otherwise known as second life (SL). In the book, “Coming of Age in the Second Life: An Anthropologist Studies the Virtually Human,” Tom Boellstroff explores the daily life of the occupants of the Second Life virtual world. In this, paper I will examine the relationship between real life and virtual world by discussing the concepts of communication, social norms, and self-expression with reference to Boellstroff’s work. Although the virtual world has been in existence for quite some time, its significance had not been clear until I read the book by Boellstroff. I realized that the virtual world means more than just communication to its residents. Freedom of communication and expression is the primary force behind the existence of the virtual world. Communication in the real world is usually subject to communication barriers due to differences in cultural, ethnic, social, and personal communication skills. However, this is not the case in virtual worlds such as second life. In the virtual world, a person or resident has the ability to choose an identity unlike in the real world. This makes it possible for people to communicate freely in the virtual world irrespective of their social norms in the real world. By being able to choose race, color, gender, profession, social class, and other factors, many barriers are eliminated, at least to some extent. Absolute freedom in virtual world is limited due to factors such as language barrier, internet connectivity, among others. The capability to choose one’s identity in the virtual world is also significance in the enhancement of anonymity in the virtual world. From the book, I learnt that lack of identity in the virtual world is of great importance in the enhancement of communication. In the virtual world people have the choice to remain anonymous. This makes it possible to express themselves freely unlike in the real world. I was surprised to learn that in the virtual world it is possible to maintain friendship with your best real friend anonymously. Most importantly, it is possible to interact freely with your enemies and other people who are out of reach in the real world. The author of the book emphasizes on this point by stating that people can hide their identity to the extent of their genders (Boelstroff, 2008: 61). I also realized that the virtual world has the ability to overcome geographical barriers of communication since people are able to communicate regardless of their geographical location. Although geographical barriers to communication have been eased by web conferencing and cellphone communication, it is not as free and available as it is in virtual world. Virtual worlds also make it possible interact with diverse communities that conflict with personal identities in the real world. For instance, it is possible for a Christian to attend a mosque in virtual world and share their sermons. This is not possible in the real world. The real world has norms that act as a measure of wrong and right. According to the author, the virtual world has developed a code of behavior for most of its users. Initially, I had thought of second life as a form of recreation. I considered our acceptable codes of behavior in different societies to hold in the virtual world as well. For instance, a person intruding into other people’s conversation will be flagged off since this is an unacceptable norm in virtual world. However, after reading the book I realized that norms in the virtual world are slightly different. According to Boelstroff (2008) “ virtual worlds are not just recreation or simulations of the actual-world selfhoods and communities, selfhood, communities, even notions of human nature are being remade in them” (pg. 63). This implies that although the norms are different in the two worlds, there exists a weak link between them. It is worth noting that there is a possibility of the two norms becoming increasingly the same with time as people try to exemplify human nature in the virtual world. Therefore, expected human behavior in real world would be duplicated in the virtual world as well. For example, people would expect friendship and relationships to develop in virtual world in the same way they happen in real world. Ideal norms in the virtual world should be flexible enough to enable people have their desired existence. Indeed, the author mentions perfection of faces as a reality of the virtual world (Boelstroff, 2008: 61). From the book, I realized that occupants of the virtual world do not have an unlimited-world and free existence. Just like the occupants of the real world, they are subjects to values of humanity and this implies a loose connection between the two worlds. Although the factor of free self-expression contributes to the existence in the virtual world, these factor stands out as a major threat. Closely associated with this factor is the issue of trust. The author identifies it as the main difficulty experienced by virtual residence. As a student, I realized that establishing SL friendship is easier as compared to real life. People find it easy to establish friendship and relationships in virtual world mainly because there is no direct harm in doing so. Confidence, self-expression, and social identities are not a problem in virtual world and this makes it possible to establish friendship and trust. This is in contrast with real life where people have to make judgment based on personal identity before establishing trust. However, it is possible to relate with potential rapists, conmen, or hackers, who want to take advantage of information that they get from SL applications. Boellstroff emphasized on the issue of trust by positing that anonymity promotes establishment of trust (Boellstroff, 2008: 98). Conclusion Existence in both the real and virtual world has become the modern lifestyle with the virtual existence increasing its significance. In his book, Tom Boellstroff analyzes the issues of virtual existence in SL. From his analysis, I realized that virtual existence is more than just a reflection or reconstruction of the real life. Unlike the real world, the virtual world enjoys a degree of freedom from some barriers to communication due to anonymity. However, the freedom is limited due to factors such as language barriers. I have also realized that some social norms in virtual world are a reflection of expected social behavior in real life. Reference Boellstorff, T. 2008. Coming of Age in Second Life. An Anthropologist Studies the Virtually Human. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. This book explores the various sociological aspects of Second Life virtual world. The author has written the book from a personal experience and investigative point after having spent time exploring human activities in this virtual world. The book covers many facets of human interaction such as communication, socialization, identity, and norms among others and compares then to real life situations. Read More