How far can you take things in Virtual Cyberland? BBC News reports on the origin of a new species: the in-game detectives. Apparently, some people in real life are wondering what their legal better half is pulling on his/her computer every night and day. Second-Life, an online virtual game, allows his participants to join a mob squad or to have a ‘closer relationship’ with someone else. Cyberfumbling, as I call it, seems pretty innocent. But is it really? This boy/girl you meet in cyberland… what is he/she doing when you’re offline?
Quick word about the game:
“Like its name implies, Second Life is an online world that encourages people to create a character and live out another existence doing almost anything they want. It’s an imaginary world without the elves and dragons people tend to associate with the “fantasy” tag. Characters can buy their own island, create their dream house, become a clothes designer, go fishing, spend nights partying in clubs and bars and, of course, have virtual sex with virtual people.”
“But, he says, the humour of the situation swiftly disappears when they realise they are about to ask the detectives to spy on someone they care about – even if they only know that person through the game.”
As the cyberdetectives say in the article, sometimes real life companions can’t cope with the virtual reality either and hire a pro to set up a honey trap to lure the cybersexer into. Luckily sometimes it turns out ok.”
“One of the cases Mr Au wrote about for Second Life that involved a honey trap ended well. All the target did during the meeting with the foxy female avatar was talk about his real world girlfriend who had set the detectives on him.” – Hah. That’ll teach her. :)
Fact is, the girlfriend actually paid hard cash for the investigation, and that brings a totally new profession onto the market. e-Detective.
Question that pops up randomly in my head is:
How healthy is your relationship when he’s e-dating all the time and you hire a detective to spy on him in cyberland, only to find out he likes you? Time to TALK. Remember that?
A psychotherapist or relation-counselor would have been less expensive. As for the detective filling his days with cyberhacking someone’s personal feelings and setting up traps… Clever, but very disgusting.
Click here to read more about this virtual thing.