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Thursday 20th September 2007 9:00 am

Laura Wray-Lake: Exploring Values in Virtual Worlds

Laura studies how individuals explore values and here she raises two key questions.

Second Life has over 9 million residents across the globe, and over 1 million US dollars are spent in this world on average within a 24-hour period.  Thus, it is not surprising that conversations about “values” and Second Life tend to focus largely on market value - of real estate and other goods and services - that constitute real earnings in the physical world. 

But what about personal values - standards by which people live in Second Life?  Discussion of these virtual values can take at least two forms - shared values within the SL community and personal values expressed by individuals. 

First, is there a shared system of values among avatars in Second Life that goes beyond the six basic principles proposed by creators of SL? The 6 community standards are designed to offer basic protections of privacy and freedom for avatars (http://secondlife.com/corporate/cs.php).  Are these standards also agreed upon by SL residents?  News about disagreements among avatars over topics ranging from business deals to political protest suggests that SL, just like any society, may still be negotiating their shared system of values.  SL residents may also interact with one another according to an unwritten code of principles that goes beyond what has been defined for them.  Individuals who spend time in-world may be able to shed light on the shared values among avatars.

Second, how much do avatars reflect people’s values in the physical world? Obviously, virtual worlds encourage exploration of a plethora of identities and behaviors that are not sanctioned by the norms of the physical world.  How might this exploration extend to interactions with others?  In other words, to what extent are virtual worlds an avenue for trying on different ways of treating other people?

Editor’s note: Laura Wray-Lake is a member of Connie Flanagan’s research team “Exploring the Social Contract in Virtual Worlds.” See posts here and here.