Second Life Romance in Real Life?

Posted in Advice, Online Dating | 2 comments

Second Life is a virtual world that was created back in 2003, similar to the PC game The Sims, that allows users to create avatars and interact with the millions of other users on the site. Eventually, people began virtually dating on the site, and some even met in person to legally bind their Second Life relationship!

Recently, Linden Labs, the group that created Second Life, has been asking people to send it their “Second Life Love Stories” via Facebook and e-mail, and the amount of people who have actually gotten married or are in real life long-term relationships that began in the game is pretty unbelieveable!

While online dating and Second Life are not necessarily interchangeable, these alarming numbers show that people in this era are far more open to meeting people in less than conventional ways… here are a few testimonials that are proof of just that!

“Met my bf on sl almost a year ago..fell head over heels and moved 1200 miles to be with him. best decision ever and ive never been so happy!”

“I met a guy 2 years ago in SL and we now live together in RL and are engaged :) Love can work through SL :)”

“Ditto Susan I met my SL fiance on sl in 2007 and we started dating there around Christmas of that year.We have been together and just celebrated our 2nd anniversary of living together in RL on March 27th this year.We Married on Sl and plan to Marry in RL soon as we can afford to.:-) SL Dreams can become a reality if you are open hearted and true to each other.”

However, there are also comments on the page from Second Life users who believe real life relationships with those you meet on “the grid” are unhealthy and potentially dangerous.

“you don’t want to hear my SecondLife love story. Like so many, it didn’t translate well to real life.”

“the internet (not just SL) opens doors for FAKE people pretending to be someone they are not, just to impress, you can be who or whatever you want to be.”

“It was on CNN last year, a 230 lb women created her avatar as a size 0 princes. Met a dude on Second life then invited him to her house. The man was in shock of her size but it was too late. She had tied him on the chair for two weeks.”

Yikes. It seems as though, as with any online dating application, that being wary and cautious isn’t just a good idea, it’s necessary. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable could have disastrous results. So no matter which site you choose to date on, whether it by Date.com or Second Life, be careful out there!