Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Virginia Tech Memorial in Second Life



Early this morning, on the anniversary of the tragedy, I visited the Virginia Tech Memorial. I was moved. I was alone at first, then I met someone there who seemed to need to talk. She lived a block away from the campus and her daughter will be a freshman there in the fall. I listened to her. Her avatar stood near my avatar and we looked at the photos of the students together. I told her I was sorry for the tragedy. She thanked me for listening. I felt something that came very close to what I would have felt in real life in the same situation. And to be very honest, I don't think I would have felt comfortable enough in RL to have been there for her in the same way.

Sometimes I find it difficult to articulate how Second Life is different from other technologies. This is the type of experience that may help some to better understand.

1 comment:

kmc said...

Robin,
Thanks for sharing about this personal experience that you had in Second Life. It makes me think of Second Life differently and wonder about the potential for counseling and psychological therapy, especially for children.

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