The Disruptive
Power of Second Life - Module 4 Blog Posting
According to
Cerf (2008), Social networking allows people with a common cause the chance to
connect with others who have similar interests. Unfortunately, this does not
come without consequences; now more than ever we are susceptible to people whom
we are willing to share personal information with, but yet never make personal
contact with. The program is also quite time consuming. Like many of its counterparts in Facebook, it
absorbs much of your time. Due to the nature of the Second Life program, you
spend more time exploring the islands instead of collaborating with others in
the program. Instead of personally
calling or writing someone, you can participate in “virtual conversations” with
the participants. With the rapid
advancements in technology, I feel that it will not be long before another
virtual program will come along to replace it. Or has it already?
Rosedale (2008)
reminds us that the virtual world was created for those of us who “crave the idea
of creating an identity where anything is possible.” The social benefits would
be that you can converse with others without leaving comfort of your own
home. For people who are shy or don’t
like to go out or who cannot due to physical disabilities, it is a way for them
to stay connected to the real world. In
education, it would be a way to stay connected with other educators from across
the country or around the world; however, due to the time needed to devote to
the program in its current state, I doubt that many educators would be able to
devote that kind of time to a program such as Second Life.
References:
Cerf, V.G. (2008). The disruptive power of networks. Forbes.com. Retrieved on October 25, 2012
from http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0507/058.html
Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life
[Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. You mention several key points that one should consider before entering into a social media environment. When we enter into these environments we are making ourselves "susceptible" to folks that we may not engage personally on a regular basis. For this reason in large part, I resisted Facebook until very recently. Now that I have an account it is a small family oriented friends list that I maintain. You also mention the benefit that the program provides to those who shy away from personal contact otherwise. I agree that this is a positive service to introverts, however, I wonder if the long term effects will be an introverted society more comfortable conversing through avatars than in person? What do you think?
As an educator, I too stayed away from the social network until my kids got older and I wanted to keep track of thier postings. Now they rarely get on it as they are now 19 and 23. I use it mostly to keep up with friends and family.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is autistic and loves connecting with friends and family through Faceboo; however she has not ventured into the Second Life world.
Susan
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI believe you are right that some virtual world application will come along to replace it that is not that time consuming.
Val (Valerie Mitchell-Stevens)