Study on Second Life and the pursuit of happiness
By Adam Reuters
SECOND LIFE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A new study by a Dutch think tank has shed light on the relationship between real-world and virtual-world happiness, concluding that people with a strong sense of well-being and many friends in the real world follow similar patterns in Second Life.
EPN, a Dutch non-profit foundation that studies the impact of information and communications technology on society, concluded that “there is a strong correlation between well-being and success in Second Life and well-being and success in real life.”
“There is, however, a small group which feels less comfortable in the real world but has discovered fantastic social possibilities in Second Life,” wrote study authors David de Nood and Jelle Attema, including retirees, the unemployed, housewives and “those who are ill or physically challenged.”
A large amount of time spent in Second Life “does not automatically have a bad influence on visitors’ social lives,” the authors added. “On the contrary, it seems that it can have a therapeutic effect on those with few friends: as they spend more hours in Second Life, they start feeling happier in the real world.”
The authors surveyed 246 Second Life residents earlier this year and then followed up with telephone interviews. The sample cannot be considered as representative, and the study relies heavily on the honesty of respondents.
“It was necessary to believe respondents at their word, which is precarious in an environment that obtains part of its attraction from anonymity and the playing of different parts,” the authors said.
The study, first reported by the DigiCMB blog and Business Communicators of Second Life, found that 10 percent of all respondents, and 16 percent of men, experimented with a different gender in Second Life.
“A virtual world, more than any other place, allows one to experiment with sexual characteristics. It is therefore remarkable that only 10 percent claim to do this,” the authors wrote. “A possibility is that respondents lied about their real gender.”
The study also found that dedicated Second Life residents who spent more than 30 hours a week in-world were more likely to “belong to the creative or IT professions.”
“It appears a creative vanguard has ensconced itself in Second Life,” de Nood and Attema wrote.
Among the study’s other findings:
– “Activities in Second Life were spread over evening hours, breaks at work and often a portion of the week-ends.”
– “Many of those surveyed who indicated that they spend considerable time in Second Life were women. They are frequently better educated than the men, often at university level.”
– “There is no solid middle class in Second Life. People are either ‘poor’ or they earn a lot.”
The study is available in full here
