Wagner James Au / New World Notes

Where do virtual worlds go when the pandemic’s gone? It's a topic I'll be thinking a lot about in the coming months. The tragedy of the global pandemic accelerated the need for online work and virtual social spaces as never before — hence the explosion of Zoom-meets-virtual worlds startups such as this one.

But as the COVID outbreak thankfully ebbs in much of the globe, many organizations are already calling for their personnel to come back into the office. Can virtual world spaces and platforms adjust to this new era, while maintaining its cultural gains? Or are they destined to fall back to simply being entertainment platforms mostly targeting teens?

I thought about this while recently reading this thought-provoking Reddit thread by veteran Second Life users who drifted away years ago, then returned to the virtual world during the pandemic (as a fair amount did)… and are now contemplating a return back to base reality:

I'm a very old user, my avatar will soon have the right to vote… I came back for the pandemic with the lockdowns, the empty days, and the social isolation, the working from home routine. The first thought upon waking up was: "What am I gonna buy and wear today?" And I meant my avatar. Me, myself, was wearing sweatshirts and pajamas, working from home, not seeing a living soul. Last week was the first day after one year that I was offline all day. I was too busy. I had a life to live. Second Life is fading away again. It's no longer the thing I look forward to when I wake up. It's not my avatar who thinks about what to wear for the day. It's me.

I am happy somehow but I am also sad. I have friends there. I have all the places I like so much. I love my avatar. She deserves to be alive.  

 - schwarzmalerin

I have a very old avi as well. I played hardcore when I started. for many many years. then I started slowing down and focused on RL. I would find myself coming back every now and then, but it wasn't until last Summer 'pandemic' that I officially came back after such a long time off. I played up until March of this year? Now I barely log in and I have even lost my land plenty of times due to this. I love Sl and I feel like I will always go back and forth, for the rest of my life… 

– Beaumo89

And this also, wisely, from Wind_Rune:

Second Life is just the name of the platform. It's a shame it's taken so literal. You saying goodbye to Second Life is like someone saying goodbye to Facebook.

The friends you made in Second Life are real; real people and real connections. If you choose to spend time with them or not is up to you. Personally I too prefer the great outdoors and I don't spend more than an hour in SL at a time. 

Much more here. Too early to tell just yet, but I strongly we'll see thoughts like these reflected in virtual world usage trends in general, as the pandemic keeps thankfully (hopefully) waning. 

Pictured: Logged into Second Life from Shanghai in 2013.