Canary Beck has a really interesting summary of a survey she conducted of Second Life users, asking them about their SL-based sexual activity. Of the 267 who responded, 172 reported that they were sexually active in Second Life. From that data set, some striking results emerged, including:
- "36% of the respondents find Second Life sex more fun than real life sex."
- "74% wished their real life sexual experiences were like their Second Life sexual experiences."
- "92% of those that find Second Life sex more fun wished their real life sexual experiences were more like their Second Life sexual experiences."
Her data suggests the latter result is attributable to the ability to engage through Second Life the kind of sexual activity that's likely less frequent in real life for many people for various reasons ("kinky sex (87%), and sex with different partners (89%)"). The top item mirrors the results of an academic study from leading virtual world academic Edward Castronova, co-authored with Gert G. Wagner, that people get more happiness from being in Second Life than good news from real life. Indeed, Canary concludes "The data suggests those who like Second Life Sex more are having less real-life sex than those who prefer real-life sex over Second Life sex."
That's not to say everyone's like that -- Canary's survey included an open question which includes answers like this:
I Avoided Second Life Drama and Met My Real Life Fiance Instead (Comment of the Week)
Second Life social drama and negativity can drive people away, as illustrated by last week's Comment of the Week, but in response, Sylea Sygall offered her own very contrary perspective, which is just as worth sharing if not moreso:
"I joined Second Life strictly out of curiosity in May 2008, very quickly met an excellent group of people who showed me how to navigate around the world, and in June of 2008, unexpectedly met the man who became my fiancee and after 5 years of long distance romance, facilitated by our 'life' in SL, I am marrying (in real life) this September.
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Posted on Monday, May 06, 2013 at 10:19 AM in Comment of the Week, Sex and Romance | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
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