Using Second Life Can Help Relieve Stress - If You Can Get Past the Stress of Using Second Life

Former Linden John "Pathfinder" Lester points out an interesting science report, entitled "The Feasibility and Impact of Delivering a Mind-Body Intervention in a Virtual World", which suggests that using a 3D virtual environment like Second Life can help relieve stress. This isn't surprising, because there are many SL groups like Play as Being which have used SL as a stress relief/meditation tool for years. However, Pathfinder points out a potential problem with this potential, as noted by the report:

Recruitment was limited to individuals with prior experience in Second Life since the interface was known to be a barrier to entry. Even with such inclusion criteria, some of the less experienced users had problems that likely affected their participation.

In other words, trying to learn how to use SL to relieve stress can itself cause stress. This remains my frustration with 3D virtual worlds:

Time and again I've seen how they can have real world benefit, but the barriers to entry persist. John's suggestion is to use a web-based 3D world like Jibe (which he's involved with), but I'm skeptical that's an ideal solution in this case. My sense is that 3D experiences help relieve stress because they're not happening on the web, which people associate with their everyday life and all the day-to-day frustrations and obligations that occur there, but instead, are distinct and immersive and (usually) take up your entire screen. Which is why I think we won't see those barriers to entry lowered and the benefits like stress relief obtain and scale when virtual worlds like Second Life are deployed on the cloud. (If they ever are.)

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[shockwave yareach]

When totally fed up with life, I sit in my VR hammock and watch the crabs roam on my beach with some ambient music in the parcel. Amazing how relaxing that is.

[Pathfinder]

Thanks for mentioning this study, Hamlet.

You said: "My sense is that 3D experiences help relieve stress because they're not happening on the web, which people associate with their everyday life and all the day-to-day frustrations and obligations that occur there, but instead, are distinct and immersive and (usually) take up your entire screen."

I respectfully disagree. Many different things cause stress. But studies have shown that a *primary* cause of stress is frustration over one's inability to successfully accomplish a desired task. (This is one reason why games like Farmville and their ilk are so popular. Lots and lots of easily accomplished tasks that require basically no skill whatsoever. But I digress...)

Most people are familiar with using a web browser. They think of it as a window to *everything* they do on the computer. Tell them to use SL, and they are faced with the challenge of learning how to install and configure a completely new program while also giving them the challenge of an overly complex UI that cannot be tailored to their specific needs. All this adds barriers to their ability to successfully use the virtual world. And therein lies a primary cause of stress.

By using a virtual world based on something like ReactionGrid's Jibe platform, one can completely customize the UI to make it as simple as possible. Plus it all runs within a web page, so it is embedded in familiariity.

And if you want fullscreen, you can do that too (example: http://jibemicro.reactiongrid.com/pathfinderlester/getready.html)

[Pathfinder]

Mind you, I still think platforms like SL are cool and have a lot of value. And in particular, I believe Opensim has a great deal of potential.

But if we're talking about "what platform is best for the most stress-free use by complete newbies?" well...that's a horse of a different color.

[Ann Otoole InSL]

This is why I searched and searched and searched and finally found a sunrise facing waterfront parcel on mainland in the middle of nowhere where nobody ever goes.

[Komuso Tokugawa]

"My sense is that 3D experiences help relieve stress because they're not happening on the web, which people associate with their everyday life and all the day-to-day frustrations and obligations that occur there, but instead, are distinct and immersive and (usually) take up your entire screen."

I'd have to agree with Hamlet on this one, though it's more important the UI be minimal in addition to full screen to better enable immersion.

A good recent example would be "Dear Esther" (superb graphics in addition to superb music/audioFX), but I have some other examples stored away.

[Pussycat Catnap]

I have my doubts about this whole barrier to entry from learning the interface thing.

Unless you're part of the Baby Boomer generation, you likely grew up around video games. Barring people from background like my own that were too poor growing up to participate in much of the world around them, and people from the third world who are now online... virtual worlds and digital interfaces have been a human norm since the beginning of the 1980s.

SLs interface is pretty simple. Its real barrier is that its very different from any popular MMO.

But it only takes a few minutes to show someone something like 'use arrow keys to walk, hit enter to talk.'

All of the building and sandbox stuff people get distracted with and confuse new folks over - that can come later.

Today's user wants to play the game first. They'll rebuild it later.

The most complicated thing is teaching them to wear an outfit - and again today's starter avatars are decent enough that you can skip this step for a few hours if you just get them to the chat with friends part first.

And then a few simple screenshots on a blog are your best bet for teaching them how to change outfits (that's the approach I used on my starting guide) - visual works.

As for SL relieving stress.

Sure, so does World of Warcraft or FarmVille. And SL is somewhere in the middle of those.

This is true of any online social video game.

Just avoid the 'my family is so tough and we're all kewl be-otches who will mess you up so bad' types... (read some profiles, they're out there and common enough) and your drama will be low and you'll find some good friends to chat about life with.

[Eleri Ethaniel]

I frequent a couple of regular meditation spaces- and it *is* relaxing, even if my RL space isn't. I think part of it is being there makes you take a moment to breathe and be mindful and quiet. Something that most of us really suck at doing :)