Study finds sex, gambling not major Second Life draws

By Eric Reuters

If there’s no “goal” to Second Life, no monsters to kill or experience points to collect, why do so many people log on and spend so much time there? Everyone has their theories, but a new academic study suggests cybersex and gambling are less of a lure than is often assumed.

Noble Pierre-Etienne (Second Life: Wolkam Winger) and Angelica Ortiz (Second Life: Angelyka Klata) surveyed 657 residents about their Second Life usage. Only 13.6 percent said they “often” or “always” practice cybersex, and 2.2 percent patronized casinos regularly.

The data was collected shortly before the gambling ban, Pierre-Etienne told Reuters.

“It’s not a perfectly representative sample, but that’s not the goal,” Pierre-Etienne said. He advertised the study through various blogs like Wagner James Au’s New World Notes. “You’ll find more Swedish people in our study because it was discussed on Swedish blogs.”

Pierre-Etienne is submitting the data as part of his thesis at the Toulouse Business School on the marketing potential of virtual worlds. His partner Ortiz, a native of Mexico, is examining the same data from a psychological perspective for the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.

“The data shows the most engaging activities in Second Life are shopping and socializing,” Ortiz said. There’s a direct correlation between overall usage and participation in cybersex, with the more committed users more likely to digitally consummate.

“I think people want to try everything,” she said.

Regina Lynn, who writes about Second Life relationships for her “Sex Drive” column at Wired.com, isn’t surprised.

“I think romance is much bigger than cybersex in Second Life,” Lynn said. “Just like there is more flirtation and come-hither and ooh-la-la in a bar than actual going home with someone to have sex.”