There are few more thorny issues in Second Life at the moment, than the presence of people with child-like avatars, in our 18+ rated world. These are all adults, who enter SL, and decide that they wish to appear to look like children, as if they were not over 18, they can be on "Teen Second Life" and where the content is generally less explicit. The presence of these adults playing as children has led to much confusion, concern, and official announcements in SL, due to the occurrences of "age play", where an apparently paedophile adult avatar, will engage in sexual relations with a child avatar. So, with all the hysteria and panic over the subject, I wandered down to the home base of a group called the Goonies, a group of people with child avatars, (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sunrise/152/37/25) to discuss why they chose the avatars they did, and what life is like as a child in Second Life.
Previous articles in this series:
Times of your (Second) Life: Pregnancy
The first child I bumped into was willing to speak to me, but would rather not give his SL name because, in his words, "I will have fun here and no discussions and so on... That is what I got in rl more than enough". I asked "JS", as we will call him, why he chose to be a child in SL:
JS: It’s just fun. Hanging around on the beach instead of working at the office. Like the times I was a boy that preferred to have fun with his mates instead of sitting in the class room
Voodoo: So, there's an element of recapturing lost childhood?
JS: That’s exactly the point. And what’s interesting is, that most of us perfectly can remember behaviour and how to interact as a child
Voodoo: So, it all comes flooding back?
JS: Yep, so to say. Sl as a time - machine
Voodoo: Do you have any SL parents? Or are you out on your own?
JS: On my own. Participating in a family background here would take way too much time
Voodoo: Have you found that anyone has tried to get involved in improper situations with you as a child here?
JS: Only once. And all u need to do is, even though a boy should not use such kind of words, say "piss off or I report you dickhead...”
Voodoo: So, there's an element of recapturing lost childhood?
JS: That’s exactly the point. And what’s interesting is, that most of us perfectly can remember behaviour and how to interact as a child
Voodoo: So, it all comes flooding back?
JS: Yep, so to say. Sl as a time - machine
Voodoo: Do you have any SL parents? Or are you out on your own?
JS: On my own. Participating in a family background here would take way too much time
Voodoo: Have you found that anyone has tried to get involved in improper situations with you as a child here?
JS: Only once. And all u need to do is, even though a boy should not use such kind of words, say "piss off or I report you dickhead...”
After speaking to "JS", I bumped into a couple of other children, Travis Yue and Pais Kidd, and asked them about their experiences:
Voodoo: So, what made you want to be a children in SL?
Travis Yue: It’s just the way I choose to express myself, everyone picks something that suits themselves. I choose to be a child. That’s not really something I can explain to someone who doesn’t understand. Its just who I feel I am. I can’t ask how it feels to be a certain type of person if I do not understand what it is. I really cant say much more than being a kid is just who I am
Pais Kidd:For me childhood was a penultimate time of fun and learning. When I chose this av, I asked myself, if I could be anyone or anything, what would I want to be? A boy was an obvious answer to me: full of life, excited about the world, still hopeful....
Voodoo: So, is either one of you part of families in SL? Do you have SL parents?
Pais Kidd: No. That stuff doesn't attract me. I have friends that are part of families, and I can see they get a lot out of it, but I just like being a free agent
Travis Yue: I have a few people that are close to me I could consider parents, but nothing solid, however the people I meet and consider close friends would be my SL family to me. There are people here I would consider as close as my RL family
Voodoo: Have you found that other people in SL react badly towards you, living in SL as a child?
Pais Kidd: Yes. First, some are just dumbfounded, and will ask point blank why? Usually once I explain, they seem to be ok. Then, there are "griefers", who go out of their way to be mean. The griefers seem to think it is their duty to teach us a lesson. There are what seem to be a certain quotient of what I estimate are like drunken frat boys on their first night on campus syndrome.
Voodoo: Have you had anyone make improper sexual advance towards you?
Pais Kidd: Yes, but I bet that happens to everyone
Travis Yue: Yes, it’s not something that can be avoided, we can’t control other peoples actions. However, we're not intolerant to them, they can be and do what they want. We just make it clear we are a separate group of people and that we want nothing to do with it
Voodoo: So, you just point out that you're not interested, and that's that?
Pais Kidd: Yea, around here, someone will normally make a comment like "put some pants on, dude" and let it go at that. Fortunately, in SL you can't be forcibly kidnapped....
Voodoo: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Pais Kidd: To me, nothing represents the epitome of potential, curiosity, and joy as a kid. Being an adult can crush so many beautiful elements of being human.
Travis Yue: It’s just the way I choose to express myself, everyone picks something that suits themselves. I choose to be a child. That’s not really something I can explain to someone who doesn’t understand. Its just who I feel I am. I can’t ask how it feels to be a certain type of person if I do not understand what it is. I really cant say much more than being a kid is just who I am
Pais Kidd:For me childhood was a penultimate time of fun and learning. When I chose this av, I asked myself, if I could be anyone or anything, what would I want to be? A boy was an obvious answer to me: full of life, excited about the world, still hopeful....
Voodoo: So, is either one of you part of families in SL? Do you have SL parents?
Pais Kidd: No. That stuff doesn't attract me. I have friends that are part of families, and I can see they get a lot out of it, but I just like being a free agent
Travis Yue: I have a few people that are close to me I could consider parents, but nothing solid, however the people I meet and consider close friends would be my SL family to me. There are people here I would consider as close as my RL family
Voodoo: Have you found that other people in SL react badly towards you, living in SL as a child?
Pais Kidd: Yes. First, some are just dumbfounded, and will ask point blank why? Usually once I explain, they seem to be ok. Then, there are "griefers", who go out of their way to be mean. The griefers seem to think it is their duty to teach us a lesson. There are what seem to be a certain quotient of what I estimate are like drunken frat boys on their first night on campus syndrome.
Voodoo: Have you had anyone make improper sexual advance towards you?
Pais Kidd: Yes, but I bet that happens to everyone
Travis Yue: Yes, it’s not something that can be avoided, we can’t control other peoples actions. However, we're not intolerant to them, they can be and do what they want. We just make it clear we are a separate group of people and that we want nothing to do with it
Voodoo: So, you just point out that you're not interested, and that's that?
Pais Kidd: Yea, around here, someone will normally make a comment like "put some pants on, dude" and let it go at that. Fortunately, in SL you can't be forcibly kidnapped....
Voodoo: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Pais Kidd: To me, nothing represents the epitome of potential, curiosity, and joy as a kid. Being an adult can crush so many beautiful elements of being human.
I'll give the final word to Neo Rebus, who turned up towards the end of my discussion with Travis and Pais:
Neo Rebus: Being a kid gives you some more freedoms than an adult. You can say what you want a bit more, act foolishly or just have fun without people thinking you're weird. You lose some of the "adult" freedoms, but that's not why most of us are here anyway. (Most of us kids, that is)
Previous articles in this series:
Times of your (Second) Life: Pregnancy
