Socially|Mundane

I know, sarcastic headliner there. But this isn't a sarcastic article. Second Life (SL) really does affect Real Life in a lot of ways. My previous three articles are proof enough of that. [still recovering.] But what about the more subtle ways? Such as our actual behavior in social situation with regard to how we feel inside?

Can our experience inside SL actually change our experience in real life? I certainly think so. In fact, the reason I put the "duh" in the headline is because I think we all know it, even if we haven't yet really thought about it. It has kind of always just been there, in the barely subconscious parts of our mind... not really chewing at us or nagging us... but rather, simply sitting there.

So Time and CNN have come up with a story that focuses a bit on this:

"...I discovered research being done at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL). Jeremy Bailenson, head of the lab and an assistant professor of communication at Stanford, studies the way self-perception affects behavior. No surprise that what we think about ourselves affects the confidence with which we approach the world. What is a surprise is that this applies in the virtual world too. With my plain Jane avatar and my inexperience in Second Life, I did what most people would want to do in an uncomfortable social situation: run away."
It actually is a pretty good read. I found it interesting, not only in this article itself, but also one of the main sources they refer to, which is the 'Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) of the University of Standford. I found this to be really interesting to follow-up on.
It tends to explain a lot of things. Funny how hindsight can be 20/20.

[Though the link to VHIL is included in the Time story, I am including here, too, in case you'd rather jump straight to that: credit to Time Magazine, time.com] How Second Life Affects Real Life - TIMESo Time and CNN have come up with a story that focuses a bit on this:

"...I discovered research being done at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL). Jeremy Bailenson, head of the lab and an assistant professor of communication at Stanford, studies the way self-perception affects behavior. No surprise that what we think about ourselves affects the confidence with which we approach the world. What is a surprise is that this applies in the virtual world too. With my plain Jane avatar and my inexperience in Second Life, I did what most people would want to do in an uncomfortable social situation: run away."

It actually is a pretty good read. I found it interesting, not only in this article itself, but also one of the main sources they refer to, which is the 'Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) of the University of Standford. I found this to be really interesting to follow-up on.

It tends to explain a lot of things.
Funny how hindsight can be 20/20.

[Though the link to VHIL is included in the Time story, I am including here, too, in case you'd rather jump straight to that: credit to Time Magazine, time.com]

How Second Life Affects Real Life - TIME
http://vhil.stanford.edu/