The online platform Second Life (SL) is a gigantic world, consisting of several continents separated by lots of ocean. Access to this virtual world is free.
You enter by means of special free computer software. The software is like a web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari) but handles three-dimensional graphics. It’s called a viewer.
The viewer represents you as a realistic-looking (and customizable) avatar. The graphics the viewer shows might make it look like a video game, but it’s not. There are no goals other than what you set for yourself.
For example, you might want to use SL for social networking with people around the world. Or you might want to attend plays or concerts or dance performances or art exhibits. Or your goal might be to sail or to fly helicopters. Or you might want to explore wonderful, even fantastical, places that other users have created. You might join a poetry or therapy group. Or your goal might be to use SL’s built-in tools for building and scripting and animating your own fantasies.
One other activity that attracts many is shopping. Yes, the basics of Second Life are free, but you can put real money into the SL economy. This allows you to tip performers you like and, yes, to shop in stores or at an online marketplace. You can shop for clothing for your avatar or for land and a house to put on it and to decorate. Unlike some versions of the Metaverse, you cannot shop for First Life goods.
Or your goal might be simply to drop into the Folkdance Center for contra and English Country dancing and waltzing. How? See Get Started .
People who like Second Life the most seem to be playful, creative, adventurous, or self-effacing.