A Virtual Life

Danielles youube video stuck an interest in me about the obsession with virtual life’s on the internet. At first I though Danielles video was a joke till I noticed that this game is very much real. Richard Kahn and Douglas Kellner talk about “groups and individuals excluded from mainstream political and cultural productions” which have been active in the construction in the Internet culture. They talk about “communities of color, gay and lesbian groups, and man other under-represented communities which have set up their own e-mail lists, websites, blogs and are now a thriving and self-empowered force on the internet” This is similar to the imaged life such as “second life” where minorities create a place to express themselves.

It is amazing to me that someone can be so indulged and connected with another life, such as this one which they rely on this “imaged life.” It is scary to see that this virtual game can be so real and realistic, but at the same time so fake and imagined. I believe that people become obsessed and addicted to games like this because it takes away from their own lives and troubles and allows them to create a life that is perfect in their eyes, and where no one can judge or ridicule them. The video says, “Be yourself, be different, free yourself, change your mind, change your look, love your look, love your life.” This in fact displays an imaged life. They are portraying that you need to do all of these things in your virtual life through this game rather than in your real life and reality.

An article from guardian.co.uk titled, “Girl starved to death while parents raided virtual child in online game.” Tells a devastating and scary story about parents who become obsessed with raising a virtual child and neglecting their own child. --

According to the Yonhap news agency, South Korean police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl called Anima in the popular role-playing game Prius Online. The game, similar to Second Life, allows players to create another existence for themselves in a virtual world, including getting a job, interacting with other users and earning an extra avatar to nurture once they reach a certain level

"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," Chung Jin-Won, a police officer, told Yonhap. "They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/05/korean-girl-starved-online-game

Again, like the “second life” video, this article did not seem real to me at first. After reading it, it is in fact very real. These virtual games empowered through the internet create an imaged life for people, which allows themselves to become addicted to this “perfect” life, which is in fact fake, neglecting their reality.