Hvorfor leve et andet liv?

Abstract

I 2003 åbnede Linde Lab deres online beboede 3d virtuelle verden Second Life. Den var meget forskellig fra andre 3d verdener fordi den var den første 3d verden som gav brugerne mulighed for at bygge ting direkte i 3d verdenen. I slutningen af 2006 og starten af 2007 steg mediernes interesse for Second Life drastisk og brugerne strømmede til. Hurtigt steg brugerantallet til over seks millioner. Hvorfor var Second Life så populært? Var det fordi det var så forskelligt fra andre 3d verdener eller skal man hellere lede efter forandringer i samfundet for at forklare brugernes interesse i Second Life? Dette speciales arbejdsspørgsmål er "Hvorfor bruger brugerne Second Life?", men fordi spørgsmålet er meget bredt har jeg formuleret tre hypoteser som afgrænser det: - Brugerne bruger Second Life som et tilflugtssted fra en kompliceret hverdag. - Brugerne bruger Second Life til at skabe digitale kunstværker. - Brugerne bruger Second Life fordi det er hype. For at underbygge første hypotese bruger jeg Lars Qvortrups teori om det hyperkomplekse samfund. Han mener at vores samfund er ved at udvikle sig fra et komplekst samfund til et hyperkomplekst samfund. Det hyperkomplekse samfunds karakteristika er at man ikke kan overskue det fra ét observationspunkt i eller uden for samfundet. Samfundet har udviklet et stort antal socialsystemer, såsom det økonomiske, det politiske og det videnskabelige system, som kommunikerer på deres egne måder og skaber deres egen omverden. Min hypotese er at Second Life er mindre komplekst end det virkelige samfund og at brugerne derfor bruger det som et tilflugtssted fra en kompliceret hverdag. For at underbygge den anden hypotese bruger jeg en anden af Lars Qvortrups teorier om hvad digital kunst er. Han mener at den digitale kunsts karakteristika er at det er multimedialt, allestedsnærværende og at publikum inviteres til at skabe deres eget kunstværk i det digitale værks mulighedsrum. Jeg bruger også Mette Sandbyes teori om hvad digital kunst er. Hun mener at social interaktion er centralt i det digitale kunstværk og at det giver plads til intimitet og erfaringsudveksling. Hun mener også, som Qvortrup, at publikum bliver medskabere af kunstværket. Jeg mener at Second Life har samme karakteristika, som Qvortrup og Sandbye nævner, når man bygger ting i den virtuelle verden. Derfor underbygges min hypotese af disse teorier. For at underbygge min tredje hypotese bruger jeg konsulentvirksomheden Gartners Hype-cyklus. Gartner mener at alle teknologier følger en kurve, hvor den først bliver meget populært, men efter den når toppen lever teknologien ikke op til forventningerne og populariteten falder drastisk indtil den når bunden. Her begynder virksomheder at eksperimentere med teknologien og finder fordele og ulemper og kurven går op igen. Til sidst flader kurven ud når virksomhederne finder teknologiens praktiske anvendelse og fordelene er bredt accepterede. Jeg mener at Second Life følger denne kurve og min hypotese er at det har indflydelse på hvorfor brugerne opretter en profil i Second Life. Jeg mener at brugerne har oprettet profiler fordi det har været så populært. For at be- eller afkræfte mine hypoteser har jeg afholdt kvalitative interviews med brugere og tidligere brugere af Second Life. Jeg mener at man ikke kan få pålidelige resultater før man testerhypoteserne empirisk, fordi teorier kun er simplificerede modeller af et område af virkeligheden. Efter at have analyseret interviewene kunne jeg bekræfte alle tre hypoteser. Respondenterne bekræftede at Second Life er mindre komplekst end virkelighedens samfund, at de har brugt det til at skave digital kunst, eller set eller hørt andre som har og de fleste af dem oprettede profiler i Second Life på grund af dets popularitet.

In 2003 Linden Lab launched their online 3d inhabited virtual world, Second Life. It was very different from other 3d worlds, because it was the first 3d world to allow its users to build things directly in the 3d world. In late 2006 and early 2007, the media coverage grew enormously and the users flocked to Second Life. Quickly the number of users grew to over six millions. Why was Second Life so popular? Was it because it was so different from other 3d worlds, or should you rather look at changes in society to explain the users’ interest in Second Life? This thesis’ research question is “Why do the users use Second Life?”, but as the question is very wide, I have formulated three hypotheses to narrow it down: - The users use Second Life as a place of refuge from a complicated everyday life. - The users use Second Life to create digital art. - The users use Second Life because it is hype. To support the first hypothesis I use Lars Qvortrup’s theory of the hypercomplex society. He argues that our society is evolving from a complex society into a hypercomplex society. The characteristic of the hypercomplex society is that you can’t survey it from one standpoint in or outside the society. The society has developed a large amount of subsystems, such as economic, political and scientific systems, which communicate according to their own codes and create their own outside world. My hypothesis is that Second Life is a less complicated society and that users therefore use it as a refuge from the hypercomplex society. To support the second hypothesis I use another theory from Lars Qvortrup about what digital art is. He argues that the characteristics of digital art are, that it uses multimedia, it is ubiquitous and that the audience is invited to create their own work of art in a room of possibilities. I also use Mette Sandbye’s theory of what digital art is. She argues that social interaction is the centre of the work of art and that it gives room for intimacy and exchange of experience. She also argues, like Qvortrup, that the audience becomes co-creators of the work of art. I find Second Life to have the same characteristics, as Qvortrup and Sandbye argues, when you build something in the virtual world. Therefore my hypothesis is supported by these theories. To support the third hypothesis I use the consulting company Gartner’s hype cycle. Gartner argues that every new technology follows a curve, where it first becomes widely popular, but after reaching the top, the technology doesn’t live up to the expectations and the popularity falls drastically, until it reaches its bottom. Here companies begin to experiment with the technology and find advantages and disadvantages and the curve goes up again. At last the curve flattens, when the companies understand the practical application of the technology and the benefits are widely accepted. I argue that Second Life has followed this hype cycle and my hypothesis is that it has influence on why the users use Second Life. I argue that users have started using Second Life because of its fast growing popularity. To confirm or deny my three hypotheses I have conducted qualitative interviews with users and former users of Second Life. I believe that you won’t get reliable results until you test hypotheses empirically, because the theories are only simplified models of an area of reality. After analysing the interviews I could confirm all three hypotheses. The respondents confirmed that Second Life is less complex than the real society, and that they have used it to create digital art, or seen or heard of others who have, and most of them started using it because of its popularity.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Hvorfor leve et andet liv?

[Why live a Second Life]