Doing it Wrong?

[Nalytha]

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” - Dave Ramsey

I feel like this sums of my Second Life pretty well. I log in and try to catch up on notifications, sales, events. Then I have to shop and manage my inventory so it doesn’t get crazy. If I’m lucky I have a little time to decorate my new home. I get distracted by the forums. I haven’t changed my clothes in a few days? Let’s take half an hour to decide on an outfit and accessories. Before I know it, I don’t have any time to be social. So I buy things and decorate my home for people who I don’t even have time to talk to. Yes, yes... I don’t ONLY buy things for other people. I buy them for me too. But would I really spend as much as I do if this was a single player game/platform? I’m not convinced I would.

Well, I’ve spent my allotted five minutes being social... I guess I better get back to shopping and being OCD with my inventory.

This isn’t a rant. Just throwing out my personal experience and wonder if anyone else ever feels like this.  I’m still going to throw money at Second Life until it closes down, I’m sure. 

[Klytyna]

5 minutes ago, Nalytha said:

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” - Dave Ramsey

I feel like this sums of my Second Life pretty well. I log in and try to catch up on notifications, sales, events. Then I have to shop and manage my inventory so it doesn’t get crazy. If I’m lucky I have a little time to decorate my new home. I get distracted by the forums. I haven’t changed my clothes in a few days? Let’s take half an hour to decide on an outfit and accessories. Before I know it, I don’t have any time to be social. So I buy things and decorate my home for people who I don’t even have time to talk to. Yes, yes... I don’t ONLY buy things for other people. I buy them for me too. But would I really spend as much as I do if this was a single player game/platform? I’m not convinced I would.

Well, I’ve spent my allotted five minutes being social... I guess I better get back to shopping and being OCD with my inventory.

This isn’t a rant. Just throwing out my personal experience and wonder if anyone else ever feels like this.  I’m still going to throw money at Second Life until it closes down, I’m sure.

Ands this differs from FirstLife how exactly?

Welcome to SecondLife...
 

[Lancewae Barrowstone]

It sounds like fun to me, because you are invested and productive.  Decorating your home is an artistic expression, just as creating your avatar is.  The clothes, the look, the body and face and hair and jewels.  This is all very satisfying.  You are hooked on that artistic creativity and the productive "doings" of your life in SL.  You have no time for "other" things yet because you are still deep in the personal expressiveness that you bring to the things you want to get done here.  That is very cool.

Yes, I certainly get it.  What you describe is actually what MANY, many people do here in SL and all over Open Sim.  We show up and get busy, like the artist at her easel or the composer at his instrument.  It's what we do!  And we find that these platforms are a creators paradise, and we feel right at home.  That is very satisfying.  Yes, I see that you are having fun.  Just like the rest of us. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Lancewae Barrowstone

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

It is money spent for entertainment.  Going to a movie can cost $15 USD and double that if you want popcorn.  You get 2 hours of entertainment, no one talks, and then back to real life.  That same amount in SL entertains for much longer.  I love shopping, playing dress-up, decorating my little chunk of SL and rarely give a thought to who I should be interacting with or showing it to.  Yes, it might occasionally be nice to have someone besides myself to show off a new outfit to or a newly redecorated house.  (that feeling usually passes quickly)

Not everyone is a social butterfly.  Sorting inventory is relaxing, almost meditative, so spending time alone is enjoyable. 

If you are having a good time on your own, then you are making the most of your Second Life.  That is exactly how it should be.

It does seem to take forever to put an outfit together.  I have to plan ahead if I do plan on going out in SL.  My inworld experience sounds a lot like yours, but I add exploring nature sims and taking pics to the list.

[Zeta Vandyke]

7 hours ago, Nalytha said:

We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like

I buy things I like (you really don't need most things you ever by in rl of sl) with money I have, with or for friends to have fun. 

Fully agree with Lancewae, most of the deocrating and dressing up is fun and relaxing. Would not really call it artistic in my case, but it sure fuels some creative needs.

[Phil Deakins]

Nice thread. I agree with those who replied so far. I especially like the idea of sorting inventory as being "almost meditative" because it really is, imo, although I rarely do it.

In a fundamental way, I'm the same. I don't  shop, change clothes, socialise, or do most of the things that most people do in SL, but I'm the same in a 'fundamental' way because I'm the same in SL as everyone else, in that I spend time here, enjoying a hobby, which we all do in our various ways, and which is what the OP and those who replied do.

 

10 hours ago, Nalytha said:

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. But we do it because we enjoy it”

FIFY

Edited May 3, 2018 by Phil Deakins

[LittleMe Jewell]

10 hours ago, Nalytha said:

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”

Yes, the stuff I buy in SL is mostly stuff I don't need, but it is with money that I do have (via my RL entertainment budget) and I do it purely for my enjoyment, rather than trying to impress others - I don't interact inworld enough with others to warrant trying to impress anyone.

As others have alluded to, we are all getting something out of this experience, something that we desire (and possibly need).  Thus I'd say it is money well spent.

[AnimalChi]

I never bought anything to impress anyone, but I get the feeling, maybe.

It's like when you're in a single player game, you're home alone in real life. You don't care what you look like because nobody is looking. (at least, I hope they're not.)

But around other people, I feel compelled to at least be presentable, respectably dressed, etc. Not so much to impress, but it is a spur to put "effort" into appearance. Not the only motivation, but a major factor.

[Nalytha]

12 minutes ago, AnimalChi said:

But around other people, I feel compelled to at least be presentable, respectably dressed, etc. Not so much to impress, but it is a spur to put "effort" into appearance. Not the only motivation, but a major factor.

I was at my home in Second Life, in a bathing suit because she was sitting in the pool while I did inventory and afk stuff. I decided I wanted to pop into a store really quick and was too lazy to change. I almost hit go to teleport .. and at the last second I was like "Ugh... fine... I guess I'll change into real clothes." This ended in me spending five minutes deciding what color shoe laces I should wear. 

[Janet Voxel]

I agree with those that say standing around dressing your avi up and shopping is pretty therapeutic. That’s the positive of doing those things.

What has been a concern of mine and increasingly so over the last couple years is SL has gotten more anti-social as a result. So while we look 100x better, the social element is disappearing. I asked about shopping from a hud instead of going to a shopping event a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised at some of the responses because they were along the lines of “I do it for the experience.” To me the “experience” has become a laggy, lengthy process that isn’t very enjoyable.

About a week ago, I met a nice guy. We chatted, we found we had motorcycle riding in common. So we decided to go riding together. He spent the better part of an hour rezzing different vehicles until, I had enough and left. I was riding around the track by myself, because he was just standing there rezzing vehicles.

I think he was trying to impress me, but I was more impressed that we were able to have a normal conversation and find something in common....before that.

That pretty much is what the SL experience has become: being impressive about things nobody cares about because they’re trying to be impressive too.

[Theresa Tennyson]

On 5/3/2018 at 12:06 AM, Lancewae Barrowstone said:

It sounds like fun to me, because you are invested and productive.  Decorating your home is an artistic expression, just as creating your avatar is.  The clothes, the look, the body and face and hair and jewels.  This is all very satisfying.  You are hooked on that artistic creativity and the productive "doings" of your life in SL.  You have no time for "other" things yet because you are still deep in the personal expressiveness that you bring to the things you want to get done here.  That is very cool.

Yes, I certainly get it.  What you describe is actually what MANY, many people do here in SL and all over Open Sim.  We show up and get busy, like the artist at her easel or the composer at his instrument.  It's what we do!  And we find that these platforms are a creators paradise, and we feel right at home.  That is very satisfying.  Yes, I see that you are having fun.  Just like the rest of us. 

I was once looking for art supplies in a certain real-life store - a type of avocational vestibule, as it were - and I was struck by the amount of the store that was taken up by pure crap that was meant to decorate people's homes. Most of it was made in a factory far away, shipped across the ocean in a container ship, shipped across the country in a big truck, and will probably end up in a landfill in a few years.  When I buy crap to decorate my Second Life properties it's a lot cheaper and easier on the environment.

[Talligurl]

On 5/2/2018 at 10:46 PM, Nalytha said:

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” - Dave Ramsey

The money I use in SL, I earn in SL, since there is no way to get a credit card here if I don't have the money i do not buy anything.

I think my ability to do this meets an emotional need.

The person I am most interested in impressing here is me, which is totally opposite of my RL behavior, hence that emotional need mentioned above.

[ThorinII]

On 3.5.2018 at 4:46 AM, Nalytha said:

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” - Dave Ramsey

I allow myself USD 20 to 25 for SL per month that I exchange into L$. From that amount, I pay the land that *I* want for myself, as my emotional need, primary - that it's also used for my group of friends and subs, is secondary. I buy things and outfits *I* like, to feel good, to feel more comfortable. Or things I love others to have or wear, which pleases me too.

It's *my* spare time I'm spending inworld after all - why should I do anything that's not fun?

5 hours ago, Talligurl said:

The person I am most interested in impressing here is me

^ This.

[Tamara Artis]

The "game" we play has no guidelines so the only thing we can use to see are we doing something wrong or right is the inner feeling that's left. Do you feel okay, fulfilled and, in general, happy after playing for an hour or two? Or do you feel something else? 

For a while, my SL was hard, made me everything but happy and I switched to other things. After some time I got back. I think we all should listen to that inner feeling and see if we're happy doing something or not? In real life we can't chose things that happen, we just try to adopt and do our best but here we have that extra mile, we have the freedom to decide which things we want to keep doing and which we could quit. 

If you question certain things, most likely you have evolved and need an update in your everyday life. RL or SL

[Aislin Ceawlin]

My rl entertainment budget usually goes to SL, due to RL issues (having a sig other who is ill in rl). I don't get to do much of anything in rl aside from going to work and coming home. My SL, when my rl best friend isn't inworld, is mostly shopping, putzing around decorating our homestead, trying things on, and just being alone. I love it, though!