Social Disparity in Second Life

Are we all born equal into Second Life? Many like to think so and Second Life is often marketed as such. Yet as more people take Second Life more seriously, the truth about social disparity is revealed. In terms of the web, people are familiar with the concept of the “digital divide”, also known as the “haves” and “have nots.” This idea applies to Second Life but with a very complex hierarchical structure.


The first aspect of the digital divide in Second Life starts outside of the interface. Users must be non-disabled, computer savvy, have high-end hardware, high-speed internet access and understand the utility of a virtual world. These criteria automatically exclude scores of people including the poor, blind, deaf and uneducated. Getting users up to speed on web technologies has taken a decade and has plateaued in speed and growth. It is only from this group of web users that an even smaller population of Second Life users is found. The entertainment, commercial and educational benefits of Second Life are cut off from other people.

Within the elite group of Second Life users, there is an even more complex structure in-world. Users are “born” into Second Life without friends or social networks. Users over the age of 18 use the adult version and everyone else is on the teen version (also known as the teen grid.) From the very start some users have privilege over others. There are many different types of accounts that Linden Labs provides users. Free accounts give no advantages to the user. The multiple layers of paying accounts allow users to start their second life with money and for some a monthly stipend. This is instant capital for users who want to start a business in Second Life.

The major categories of users break down into varying levels: Lindens, commercial users, celebrities, organizations and the multiple levels of plebian account holders. This pyramid assumes a certain idea of what it means to be successful or powerful in Second Life. Second Life is so open-ended that there is no official measure of success. It is more of an interface or an exotic 3-D web browser than a game like World of Warcraft where something is keeping score.

Within Second Life, users take their first life with them. Those with expertise at video games, computer language scripting, graphic design applications or business are already primed for starting a business in Second Life. Second Life has an internal program for the creation of 3-D objects, but users with external applications like Photoshop are also at an advantage. Those with business experience or commercial backing can easily become Second Life monopolies or dominant brands. Users like the band members of Duran Duran or Susan Vega have pre-existing celebrity status. Such advantages may make regular users of Second Life feel like they are competing in the same way as in real life, and thus there would be no difference between worlds.

In real life we are not born equal. Some people are born beautiful, smart or rich, while others are not. In Second Life, people are free to be as beautiful as they want, but we carry our own intelligence and wealth from our real life into our second life.