Theres alot of differences between something like msn messenger and second life. MSN could be compared to a phone call or sending txt messages. Visual elements complete change to situation and the way you react, theres a reason a video call is more expensive than a voice call on your mobile. Its easy to make a fake hotmail and put someone elses image as your display picture so to say that people on MSN are more real would be wrong. But the fact is that there is less room for you to make up stuff on msn. All you have is your word and a picture.
In a virtual world you can make yourself thin, in shape and even black or white. Surely though, anyone who goes into a virtual world knows what there getting into. You know that all the people are going to be fake and the few that arent fake are probably too boring to talk to.
In regards to the social aspect, MSN is like going to a friends party and virtual worlds are like going to a night club alone. The people you talk to on msn are only there because you have added them or they have added you and you have accepted it, so generally you know most of the people on your list and theres no one you try to avoid because you can just delete them.
The people you talk to in virtual words and mainly complete randoms. They don't need your permission to talk to you and you generally cant make them go away. It is this socially environment in which annoying people flourish.
So all in all i would take msn over a virtual world anyday, unless i was super bored and super lonely and had super low self esteem.
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