Presented at Virtual Ability in Second Life, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/48/171/23

1. How Relationships Blossom
in Second Life:
Friendships, Romance, and
Professional Relationships
Department of Occupational Therapy
Jefferson School of Health Professions
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA 19107 USA

2. What does a SL relationship
mean to you?
“I treat online relationships as real ones. Both friendships
and new romance. It is the same feelings involved so
best to treat those with the same respect as ‘real-life’
experienced feelings. I felt just as sad when a friend quit
SL as I did when an RL friend moved away.”
“An SL girlfriend to me means a fictional character made by a
real person, with real feelings, that has shown me the
meaning of friendship – although via a computer.”
“…the marriage is a symbol of their RL devotion to each
other. ‘He asked to marry me in RL, and until that day comes,
this was my way of accepting. It’s a pixelated engagement
ring.’”
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/SL-Relationships-Howreal-are-they-to-you/td-p/858815/page/10

3. How does a relationship in
Second Life blossom?
"In response to the survey question
of why participants first came to use
SL,46% said they were curious,
followed by 13% meeting people, and
11% for educational purposes” 1
1
• Let’s explore and discuss
relationship experiences in
Second Life!
• “Life is like an onion…”
• Would you agree?
Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/
index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

4. How do you pick up on and
begin to use SL etiquette?
• Does certain etiquette apply when looking for
friendships? Romance? Or just friendly
conversation?

5. Some other interesting
statistics
"Over one third of participants (38%) established what
they believed to be a close relationship with another
avatar on SL."
"Of those relationships considered significant by the
respondents, 77% were considered intimate."
Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/
index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

6. Where in SL have you made
connections?
• Are there specific
“hotspots” for meeting
people?
• Places you know to avoid?
"Eighty-eight percent reported
friendships were readily available in
SL through such activities as dancing
(62%) and role plays (59%), and a
variety of groups (100%), among
others." 1
1
Anstadt,et. al, 2013, http://www.irrodl.org/
index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626

7. Connections through
Forums
• How useful are
relationship forums on
SL? Do you use them?
How do you know what
to say?
• Would you ever post
something in a
newspaper ad?

8. Meeting Up
• Would you consider
meeting your SL
connections in RL?
• Any past stories or
experiences?
• How does meeting
new people in SL
compare to meeting
new people in RL?
How do your feelings
differ during each of
the types of
interactions?

9. Body image
• Many SL users reported that by using their
avatar, they had control over who they were,
how they acted, and what they looked like.
• Do you feel that a major benefit of using SL as
a social context in having the ability to control
who you are, and even change that depending
on where you are, whenever you’d like?

10. “alt avis”
In the study, 23/30 individuals had more than one avatar
Reserved for exploration of alternative identities, activities,
and social contexts
“I don’t want the alts to maintain friendships and stuff like
that. They’re usually used to get stuff done.”
Leshed & McLeod, 2012
• Who here has 1 or more alt avis?
"Sixty percent of participants indicate belief that SL avatars
represent in part the real person”
Anstadt,et. al, 2013, p. 5

11. Resources
• http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/12/second.life.rel
ationship.irpt/index.html
• http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-andRelationships/Romantic-Relationships-in-Second-Lifeand-Real-Life/td-p/1913977
• http://galenheron.blogspot.com/2007/09/relationshipspartnerships-and-marraige.html
• http://theresecarfagno.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/wha
ts-in-an-sl-relationship/
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SLetiquette
http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyle
s-and-Relationships/SL-Relationships-Howreal-are-they-to-you/td-p/858815/page/10

12. Resources
Anstadt, S. P., Bradley, S., & Burnette, A. (2013). Virtual
Worlds: Relationship Between Real Life and Experience
in Second Life. International Review of Research in Open
& Distance Learning, 14(4),
http://www.irrodl.org/
index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1454/2626
Leshed, G. & McLeod, P.L. (2012). “Metaphors for
social relationships in 3D virtual worlds”. CSCW.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1454/2
626