Is Second Life only for them young folk?
New mini documentaries are out, with perspectives from some older guys and gals beyond the 18-39 demo ....
Sometimes I feel I am like the Rolling Stones, who arguably have written just ONE SONG but it is such a good one that they keep “rewriting” it.
I am not saying my Second Life mini documentaries are as good as the oeuvre of the Stones, however when viewed in a binging type manner, a certain subtext, or as my wife puts it, a TEXT, becomes apparent: Age does not matter in Second Life, mainly because the avatar frees us from our earth/time-bound body and liberates not only ourselves as individuals but the interaction between us and others.
Intergenerational dialogue is flourishing in Second Life, even among people who do not necessarily seek out such interaction on purpose: it happens naturally, or via serendipity, because the avatar can, if you let “it”, represent at least a part of the essence of a person.
In “real life” these visual signifiers can only be projected via clothing (maybe a t-shirt with a spiffy slogan or a red baseball hat?) or plastic surgery …
And judgement abounds when an “older” person “violates” the unspoken law of dressing her age in public (sorry but it should be obvious to all of us that in our society women are most certainly judged a LOT harsher than men in that regard!).
Anyhow, let’s cut the rambling!
I hope you enjoy my two new stories about Creations Park, where people of all ages find commuity.
Let’s start with Barbie Alchemi who founded Creations Park as a means to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation:
And in the second video, Carlyle Chaparral brings us into the world of the Savoy Ballroom, a seminal dance hall in Harlem where desegregation was practiced long before Civil Rights legislation mandated the end of American Apartheid:
Note: you may recall the reference/clips used here from a Drax Files World Makers video about Fran Seranade (which even made it into Wired Magazine !!! ) and that was of course Barbie’s mother. Below my original profile of her from 2013 (I flew down to San Diego from Monterey, California, and spend a day with them. It was amazing!).
Please do leave a comment on these videos, read the full blog post on SL community pages and tell your story about transcending age in a world that let’s you become the true creator of the self?
Thank you and see you in-world.
I do remember in my early days 2007 to about 2010, that is was taboo to ask someone’s RL (Regular Life) info, especially their age! Once that taboo went by the wayside I was so surprised to find I was not as much an Oldster as I would have thought I was. SL has helped my bloom and age more gracefully as I do there so many things I didn’t or Wouldn’t in RL.
Really brilliant stories, Drax. Life is all about stories and there is one of each of us.