Long-Dormant Second Life Users Brought Back By the Pandemic Contemplate a Post-COVID Return to Reality

Where do virtual worlds go when the pandemic’s gone? It's a topic I'll be thinking a lot about in the coming months. The tragedy of the global pandemic accelerated the need for online work and virtual social spaces as never before -- hence the explosion of Zoom-meets-virtual worlds startups such as this one.

But as the COVID outbreak thankfully ebbs in much of the globe, many organizations are already calling for their personnel to come back into the office. Can virtual world spaces and platforms adjust to this new era, while maintaining its cultural gains? Or are they destined to fall back to simply being entertainment platforms mostly targeting teens?

I thought about this while recently reading this thought-provoking Reddit thread by veteran Second Life users who drifted away years ago, then returned to the virtual world during the pandemic (as a fair amount did)... and are now contemplating a return back to base reality:

I'm a very old user, my avatar will soon have the right to vote... I came back for the pandemic with the lockdowns, the empty days, and the social isolation, the working from home routine. The first thought upon waking up was: "What am I gonna buy and wear today?" And I meant my avatar. Me, myself, was wearing sweatshirts and pajamas, working from home, not seeing a living soul. Last week was the first day after one year that I was offline all day. I was too busy. I had a life to live. Second Life is fading away again. It's no longer the thing I look forward to when I wake up. It's not my avatar who thinks about what to wear for the day. It's me.

I am happy somehow but I am also sad. I have friends there. I have all the places I like so much. I love my avatar. She deserves to be alive.  

 - schwarzmalerin

I have a very old avi as well. I played hardcore when I started. for many many years. then I started slowing down and focused on RL. I would find myself coming back every now and then, but it wasn't until last Summer 'pandemic' that I officially came back after such a long time off. I played up until March of this year? Now I barely log in and I have even lost my land plenty of times due to this. I love Sl and I feel like I will always go back and forth, for the rest of my life... 

- Beaumo89

And this also, wisely, from Wind_Rune:

Second Life is just the name of the platform. It's a shame it's taken so literal. You saying goodbye to Second Life is like someone saying goodbye to Facebook.

The friends you made in Second Life are real; real people and real connections. If you choose to spend time with them or not is up to you. Personally I too prefer the great outdoors and I don't spend more than an hour in SL at a time. 

Much more here. Too early to tell just yet, but I strongly we'll see thoughts like these reflected in virtual world usage trends in general, as the pandemic keeps thankfully (hopefully) waning. 

Pictured: Logged into Second Life from Shanghai in 2013.

Comments

[William Gide]

I started spending more time in SL again, and renewed the membership settings on my agèd account, about this time last year. I had some things I could do outside, but SL was a nice way to kill time sight-seeing, piddling about with some minor building, etc. Once autumn came I really needed something to absorb my time, so I started a massive landscaping project and bought up a bunch of adjacent parcels, to build a virtual forest. I've also refreshed my list of DJs and musicians I go to see regularly.

Now, even with COVID restrictions relaxing, I still definitely look forward to certain regular shows, and certain people to chat with. I'm not constantly working on my forest, but I'm not at all planning to get rid of it or drop my account status. I'm sure I'll spend plenty of time with it when winter comes around again.

At my own place of work, going to in-person meetings is very time consuming because getting from building to building is rarely fast. I'm really hoping virtual meetings (whether zoom-like or some other more exotic virtual world-like possibilities) can stay on for many, maybe most meetings. They save a huge amount of time for any workplace that's spread out.

[camilia fid3lis nee Patchouli Woollahra]

You can come back, and you don't have to leave if you don't want to. That's it, that's all there is to returning to a forum or world you came back to.

[Orca Flotta]

SL always did as fine as LL allowed it to do before the pandemic. Once we're over and one with that shit, SL will be as it always was. People come and go, some stay longer, some shorter.
Either you're hooked by SL, or not. Has nothing to do with where you spend your RL work hours. You leave house at 7:00, come home at 17:00, right? The time from 17:01 to 6:59 you're free to play in SL ... or you don't.