Balancing real life and Second Life

It came to me the other day. Was I playing or working in Second Life? While some of what I do is fun and allows me lots of creativity without the pay, of course, the hours I spend both in SL and through email with my colleagues from SL, adds up to a lot of unpaid time. Now I'm not complaining particularly because this is what I want to do. I love to write, so my work on the Metaverse Messenger Newspaper and RezLibris Magazine help me fulfill some of my real life interests. But I also do writing in real life (have recently self published a romance featuring a virtual world, "Cloudy Rainbow.") For those who do writing themselves, you know how time intensive it is, fiction as well as non-fiction writing. And since most writers, unless you are exceptionally lucky, do not make a living out of it, a full-time job is usually necessary.

So how can someone balance their real life with their Second Life? Most people agree that real life should take priority, the quality and quantity of time you devote to family and career. But in some people, Second Life begins to compete for attention with real life pursuits and concerns. How does this happen? Well, if you joined solely for fun and spend your time at clubs and dances, you could get hooked on the social aspects of meeting people from all over the world without the commitment of having to interact with them in person. There's definitely some danger in this, as you become more isolated in a crowd of avatars. But what if you choose to get involved in volunteering or working in Second Life, starting a business, offering a service, etc.? You might end up making some real life money and will also meet some virtual friends. But chances are this will also take up a lot of your time, and would that time be better spent at a real life job? Possibly but not necessarily. It depends on what you are doing and what you are gaining (not only in monetary rewards but also in experience and pleasure).

So we need to weigh our real life and Second Life jobs and leisure activities to see if the time we spend in each is equal to the benefits we are receiving and make necessary adjustments. There's no reason why we can't enjoy both worlds a little bit at a time.