Simulation. Has it gone too far?

I'm finding it difficult to write about these things. Postmodernism is so broad and expansive it's hard to really pin one thought down without another one fluttering in and giving its opinion. Maybe that's the point. Who knows.

There was one thing I wanted to mention. Anyone ever heard of the game Second Life? It scares the crap out of me because there are real people out there who basically live their entire lives in that game. They make a little person they can play as, have social interactions, buy and sell virtual real estate (using real money) and so on. In my curious gamer nerdy-ness I gave the thing a try.

The game itself barely even qualifies as a "game." It's not like EA's the Sims where you control a character that is unrelated to you and interacts with simulated people, nor is it anything like any MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) where your character has objectives to achieve for imagined points or simulated rewards. Second Life basically gives the users the capacity to create their own realities, and users will buy and sell things with real money in order to advance their character.

It's hard to really fully explain this monstrous thing, so here's the website. http://secondlife.com/

My question is, what's next? Thousands of people already devote their entire lives to this game. How long is it until we're all just walking simulations? Or are we all just simulations already? Ach. I think it's time I simulate myself some sleep.