Since that time, some bizarre news has come out of Second Life: second-life millionaires, Second-Life couples, and the resultant divorces. None of which are particularly disturbing at all, just matters of interest. Second Life, though, is now going a bit too far- one virtual rape has been reported, which I don’t quite understand, and now, there are believed to be “fake kids” having sex with” fake adults”. Normally this would be termed pedophilia, but in the world of Second Life, which is only open to adults, it is called "age play".
In 2007, a British reporter went "undercover" (not literally!) and created a Second Life avatar. He reported seeing children playing on swings offering sex.
Second Life, previously took the high road on the issue and did not regulate this type of play. Now, however, according the Second Life Wiki, "age play" meaning "sexual congress' with a child avatar is illegal under the system. How well this is enforced remains to be seen, however.
I’m thinking there are definitely two sides to the issue of "age play". Does acting out sex with kids in Second Life give someone the idea that it’s ok to do in real life or does it actually prevent them from acting out their real life fantasies of molesting actual children? The psychologist interviewed by Cnet didn’t really seem to have a definitive answer, either.
Another fear is that young people new to the game might interpret this young person as someone close to their age, when in fact, it could be a much, much older person "behind the curtain" or "between the sheets". Kids are barred from Second Life as a matter of policy and are kicked out if their age is revealed, but I’m not sure how difficult it would be for a tech-savvy youth to put in a fake age and log-in.
What do you think? A bunch of crap about nothing or something that needs to be looked at more seriously?