Friday, March 20, 2009

Upside down

I've read (and written) quite a bit about how RL influences SL and how many of us find it impossible to treat our SL selves as a completely different emotional and experiential being to our RL selves. So in that way RL influences SL. Who we are in flesh and blood is an indication of who we will be in pixels. But what about the other way round? Do you think we can find our SL selves influencing our RL?

The reason I ask is that my RL self took a wander at lunchtime away from my desk, around the shops and stuff. And browsing through clothes shops I found myself drawn to stuff that my SL self would wear, but not what my RL self would typically wear. Could my SL self be influencing how I am RL? Is my SL self really part of my inner RL self that SL is causing to surface?

It's an interesting question to ponder of a Friday afternoon.

5 comments:

  1. I would agree that the SLelf and RLelf (ok, it's midnight here and I'm not coherent. Cut me some slack, will ya? :P) do influence each other.

    Granted, the shopping phenomenon happens to me, but as a female in SL, I can outfit myself pretty darn well for next to nothing from all the best designers. In RL, it's not like I can walk into Donna Karan and pick up a free dress. *falls off chair laughing at the prospect of asking for such*

    SL has widened my horizons when it comes to buying clothes though. SL is just like an adult version of paper dolls when it comes to shopping. Oh, how many hours I can waste trying on clothes. Shame on me.

    And I need to go to bed because I think I'm driveling.

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  2. Oooo paper dolls. I lurved paper dolls.

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  3. *sneaks over from Cen's blog*

    I think your SL personality DOES affect your RL personality. At least mine did. I am a lot less shy, a lot more "myself" now that I have explored SL for some time. I find that through SL I have found my 'true' rl self, if that makes sense. I also worry less about how I look, and like how I look more. :)

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  4. I think there are no separated SL/RL personalities.
    The thing is IMHO that in SL your trueself comes out and you can explore it in a safe way without all the constraints of the atomic world.
    SL has made me overcome my stage fright, for instance. I started giving classes in SL and now I can do a presentation iRL for a whole assembly without my voice shaking.
    As for clothing, your personal taste reflects in your avatar. And that may lead your RL self to leave the comfort zone and try a bit further.
    Still is always you, no matter in what world :)

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  5. That's really great to hear that SL helped you in that way, Winter :)

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