Morality is different in SL vs RL

[SandorWren]

I find some of the things that are negative in RL, are very positive in SL. And actually help us in RL. Narcissism for example. Here it helps us to improve our RL aesthetic skills. Being promiscuous and kinky here helps us understand out RL sexuality better. In RL it can be very dangerous.

The list can go on. Please everyone add more!!!

[Lillith Hapmouche]

You like Narcissism with some kind of aesthetic? Why? In terms of being self-conscious? But what about the nasty turns like manipulative behaviour, playing victim, dragging so-called friendships through the dirt and back?

[Tari Landar]

Wait....what in the actual hell? Do you know what narcissism actually is? How on earth does narcissism in sl, which is more likely to be a projection of the exact same trait in a person in rl (whether the person actively, or regularly, expresses it in rl or not) and nearly always has negative connotation.....help with rl aesthetic? How do you even correlate the two? I really don't think narcissism is very helpful to anyone 99% of the time, be it rl or sl, and I think it often aids people in being more harmful as humans in general-regardless of the recipient of the expressed behavior(s). I certainly don't think sl narcissism helps a damn soul with aesthetic in sl or rl, it's quite often a precursor to negative things, certainly not positive in most instances (and I believe I am being very generous when I say most)

Not touching the other part of your post because I don't think every bloody post you make needs to surround sexuality, especially when you've been asked, more times than not, to knock that ***** off in this section of the forum.

(I'm also not sure how you define morality to be honest, as it may not fall in line with what I think many define it as, and that's not a bad thing, I'm not necessarily sure there really are social norms across the board for such....so I'm gonna veer off course for the rest of this post)

There are things people do, express, participate in, "feel" as it were, in sl, that can aid them in rl, which is where I thought you were going with the post, and am going to continue assuming you were going.

Social aspects of sl can aid people in rl a lot, actually. People who behave more introverted in rl, whether they truly would be defined as such (by themselves or anyone else) may find that a virtual environment like sl, helps them overcome those issues (if they indeed feel it is an issue). For others still, though, it may be the exact opposite. Learned skills, within sl, in general, are things that can, often, assist people with rl things.  Sl can be tremendously beneficial, tremendously damaging, and everything in between, all of it centers around humans regardless and what they deem to be right, wrong and indifferent. It's not often that all of those things match up across the board, though such things have been discussed here and prior incarnations of the fora, quite a lot, I doubt you'll find a whole lot of consensus on any particular tidbit, because humans, human nature and what people define as morals and ethics, will vary as greatly as humans themselves do.

 

 

[SandorWren]

32 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

You like Narcissism with some kind of aesthetic? Why? In terms of being self-conscious? But what about the nasty turns like manipulative behaviour, playing victim, dragging so-called friendships through the dirt and back?

I meant narcissism in the sense of enjoying our own beauty. Nothing beyond that. 

[Bree Giffen]

I think you mean vanity instead of narcissism. Vanity can be a bad thing in RL but in SL it drives the economy. Lust is another vice.... drives the SL economy again.

[SandorWren]

Tari,  i was just asking a question.

3 minutes ago, Bree Giffen said:

I think you mean vanity instead of narcissism. Vanity can be a bad thing in RL but in SL it drives the economy. Lust is another vice.... drives the SL economy again.

You defined my point more clearly. Thank you!!! used the wrong wording.

[Luna Bliss]

I'm pretty invested in getting everything 'just so' in SL, especially when designing a scene for someone else.  Being so picky in RL, around my own house for example, might seem like OCD and would drive people crazy.

 

But regarding 'narcissism'...

Dictionary definition of narcissism which applies to your concept:

NARCISSISM:     excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance

 

So I can see what you mean about narcissism -- many do focus excessively on appearances here, but of course "excessive" would be defined differently for each person.  Fiddling with appearance and environment is so central to the 'game' though...and so not sure comparisons between SL and RL work real well for this particular dynamic.

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Luna Bliss

[SandorWren]

I truly used the wrong wording. 

[Stephanie Misfit]

I was just thinking something similar the other day, about how some things that are definitely not OK in real life are just fine in SL.

Take cultural appropriation. We all know now that if we are white and wear items that have great significance to other cultures, we are going to cop a lot of flack about it. But if you have a white avatar on SL and want to take a pretty picture for your Flickr, the sky is the limit! Make that white avatar a geisha, or put her in a Native American headdress. Nobody will bat an eyelid and you'll get heaps of faves. And kink! It's perfectly OK for your avatar to walk around with her and body face beaten up, and for you to post pictures of her on your Flickr because "no kink shaming", never mind the increasing issues in the world with violence against women.

 

 

[elise Voxel]

I'm probably bringing up a wrong example, but maybe furries? In RL it's seen as weird to dress up in an anthropomorphic costume but in SL people won't treat you any differently. Not saying being a furry is wrong or anything, just that it's seen differently in the virtual world compared to the real world.

2 minutes ago, Stephanie Misfit said:

I was just thinking something similar the other day, about how some things that are definitely not OK in real life are just fine in SL.

Take cultural appropriation. We all know now that if we are white and wear items that have great significance to other cultures, we are going to cop a lot of flack about it. But if you have a white avatar on SL and want to take a pretty picture for your Flickr, the sky is the limit! Make that white avatar a geisha, or put her in a Native American headdress. Nobody will bat an eyelid and you'll get heaps of faves. And kink! It's perfectly OK for your avatar to walk around with her and body face beaten up, and for you to post pictures of her on your Flickr because "no kink shaming", never mind the increasing issues in the world with violence against women.

 

 

Dressing up in clothes from any culture, even if it isn't yours, should be perfectly acceptable in RL as well. It's unfortunate that some people make it seem bad so that people are afraid to do it.

[Madelaine McMasters]

I don't think morality is at all different here, Pearl. SL simply affords us the opportunity to do and be things we can't in RL. Anyone who's known me for long is well aware that I'm likely to set them on fire sooner or later. That's something I'd never do in RL. They also know that my silly antics convey affection, exactly as they do in RL. The underlying morality is exactly the same but the expression is different.

I'm no more vain here than in RL. In RL you'll usually find me wearing jeans, deck shoes and a paint stained sweatshirt. Here you won't find a paint stain anywhere and I'm often wearing high heels. This isn't because I care more about my appearance here, it's that I care more about practicality in RL, where I am in the middle of a seemingly endless remodel of my home. I also have vitiligo and the unavoidable patina of a fifty year old woman who's survived breast cancer. I'm simply too lazy to expend the time, effort and money it would take to match that patina here in SL, where everyone can be cloyingly beautiful. I'm as lazy here as in RL, where beauty requires hard work. Same morality, different expression.

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Madelaine McMasters

[Lindal Kidd]

Like Maddy, I don't think morality is different in SL.  The root of morality is to not do harm to others, and secondarily not to harm yourself.  There are plenty of things you can do in SL that cause no harm, but would be terribly harmful in RL, so yeah, we can do those things here.

[animats]

2 hours ago, Bagnu said:

Narcissism

“That’s what this multi-billion dollar industry is all about anyway, isn’t it? Inner beauty.”  - The Devil Wears Prada

[Jordyn McGregor]

7 minutes ago, Stephanie Misfit said:

I was just thinking something similar the other day, about how some things that are definitely not OK in real life are just fine in SL.

Take cultural appropriation. We all know now that if we are white and wear items that have great significance to other cultures, we are going to cop a lot of flack about it. But if you have a white avatar on SL and want to take a pretty picture for your Flickr, the sky is the limit! Make that white avatar a geisha, or put her in a Native American headdress. Nobody will bat an eyelid and you'll get heaps of faves. 

 

2 minutes ago, SassySam87 said:

Dressing up in clothes from any culture, even if it isn't yours, should be perfectly acceptable in RL as well. It's unfortunate that some people make it seem bad so that people are afraid to do it.

I have to side with SassySam on this one.  I don't see it as cultural appropriation, and in fact have seen people of other cultures (Asian, American Indian etc) saying that they see it as cultural appreciation.  We're taught to treat everyone as equals, to accept people of different colours, cultures and races, and when people do this by immersing themselves in it, they are jumped on and have the ole "omg cultural appropriation" finger waved at them.

Now as for my example of things that are seen as negative in RL and accepted in SL...walking into someone else's home.  People seem to think there is nothing wrong with just waltzing right on into someone's home in SL, even fornicating in their bed, and you would not do this in RL.  

I was once enjoying some "adult time" with a partner in my skybox home and had a couple TP in.  The male told us to hurry up cos he wanted to use MY bed.  After profile checking, I noticed he was partnered...and NOT to his companion.  His partner received a screenshot and copy of the convo, along with a "please let your man fornicate with his skanks in his own bed and not mine."  I noticed he was single not long afterwards.

[Lindal Kidd]

"Cloyingly beautiful"...I like that term!  I've been experimenting with mesh heads, and I think I've achieved that.

I heard another good word today too.  A noob I was chatting with in IM exclaimed about a woman he said was "so...thicc".  Apparently he'd encountered one of those ladies with extremely exaggerated curves.  He told me he was "scaroused" by the sight.

[SandorWren]

15 minutes ago, SassySam87 said:

I'm probably bringing up a wrong example, but maybe furries? In RL it's seen as weird to dress up in an anthropomorphic costume but in SL people won't treat you any differently. Not saying being a furry is wrong or anything, just that it's seen differently in the virtual world compared to the real world.

Dressing up in clothes from any culture, even if it isn't yours, should be perfectly acceptable in RL as well. It's unfortunate that some people make it seem bad so that people are afraid to do it.

I have a Hungarian background. If someone dressed up in our traditional outfits, I wouldn't feel offended.

[Chic Aeon]

Personally I don't see any difference between "real life" and virtual life (whatever platform). We are who we are and hopefully remember that. I can't think of any occasion in twelve plus years where I acted differently in second life than I would in my corporeal one. 

[Luna Bliss]

28 minutes ago, Stephanie Misfit said:

Take cultural appropriation. We all know now that if we are white and wear items that have great significance to other cultures, we are going to cop a lot of flack about it. But if you have a white avatar on SL and want to take a pretty picture for your Flickr, the sky is the limit! Make that white avatar a geisha, or put her in a Native American headdress.

Oh my, I can't even imagine walking around where I live with a Native Headdress, or sauntering up to a group of Black people and saying "whatchu doin" or talking in 'Black sassy'........I'd probably be murdered!   

But in SL...no problem...

It's okay with me though, as these are the groups (Natives,Blacks) who have been so oppressed in the US, and for so long we wouldn't let them have their own separate identity. Finally they can.

[SandorWren]

21 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Like Maddy, I don't think morality is different in SL.  The root of morality is to not do harm to others, and secondarily not to harm yourself.  There are plenty of things you can do in SL that cause no harm, but would be terribly harmful in RL, so yeah, we can do those things here.

I was going even beyond that. I feel our morality is about our existence.  Anything that threatens our existence in SL or RL is immoral. It's just slightly different in SL.

[Talligurl]

SL is an entertainment medium, so you best serve others here by entertaining them. RL is much more complex, if all you did in RL was entertain the people around you, you would leave unmet a lot of needs. 

[SandorWren]

11 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

Personally I don't see any difference between "real life" and virtual life (whatever platform). We are who we are and hopefully remember that. I can't think of any occasion in twelve plus years where I acted differently in second life than I would in my corporeal one. 

I am simply me. I act no differently whether RL or SL. I feel there are differences though, to maintain our survival.

[Lindal Kidd]

23 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

I can't think of any occasion in twelve plus years where I acted differently in second life than I would in my corporeal one. 

You go around flying and teleporting in Real Life!?  I wanna know your diet!

Or, there's always this one...

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Lindal Kidd

[Chic Aeon]

1 minute ago, Lindal Kidd said:

You go around flying and teleporting in Real Life!?  I wanna know your diet!

The OP was about MORALITY -- not flying.   I just finished two months of low carb and lost 20 pounds. Now on calm eating with more fruit and some non gluten grains. I doubt that either helps me FLY better. I do teleport in dreamland if that counts :D. 

[Nick0678]

47 minutes ago, Bagnu said:

I meant narcissism in the sense of enjoying our own beauty.

To be fair i always enjoyed the company, energy and spirit of extrovert narcissistic women in SL and usually their sense of humor is delightful to extreme levels (the covert type ones are annoying for my taste).In RL though i get burned out quickly when dealing with them.

Now regarding morality, vanity and such... When it comes to the avatar part i never cared and still don't care about it although it does look good, in regards to business i am always very serious, my stance with human relationships such as friendships in SL is very clear and honest since day one and i explain to everyone that spending time talking does not make us friends.

Being straightforward is part of my character regardless if SL or Rl and people either like me or hate me, doesn't make much of a difference but still appreciate the fact that i don't play games behind their back.

2 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

The OP was about MORALITY -- not flying.   I just finished two months of low carb and lost 20 pounds. Now on calm eating with more fruit and some non gluten grains. I doubt that either helps me FLY better. I do teleport in dreamland if that counts :D. 

Don't forget to do some jogging/walking if the place that you live in allows it to help your circulatory system and digestive system as well.

[SandorWren]

Let me explain simpler. What is morally considered immoral in RL isn't necessarily so in SL. Hurting others is wrong in both worlds though in my opinion.!!!

Edited August 2, 2020 by Bagnu