I just finished reading that article on second life, and I found it incredibly interesting and incredibly depressing at the same time. On a personal note, I just find it sad that people can not have pleasure in their real lives, and they have to go to the internet to form a new facade that will bring them happiness. I believe that it is a hard topic to address, and make a firm decision on if he is cheating on his wife. When looking up the word Cheat online, the Princeton review definition states it as follows: adulterous: not faithful to a spouse or lover. Ric Hoogestraat is not devoted to his wife, and unfaithful on many levels. However, there is no sexual relationship between him and his "second life wife." And i think many would agree that in relationships we wouldn't consider it cheating until Ric and his on line wife met and starting having sex with each other.
However, I would totally be angry and upset with my husband if he was doing was Ric Hoogestraat is doing. His wife must feel neglected and unimportant, and slightly embarrassed. She is being replaced by a person his husband has never seen, and "loves" in a virtual world. I don't think she is out of line in her frustrations and I would not be surprised if this relationship ended in a divorce.
As mentioned in a previous entry: This is a problem with the complex culture we have. It has allowed people to avoid reality, and make their own worlds. Instead of going out and meeting people, or living LIFE, people are sitting on their computers for 10-12+ hours a day living in computer generated worlds. I also understand that technology has brought about many positive things, but in a country where the divorce rates sit at 50% and relationships fail more than succeed, we are only allowing technology to push us further in a negative direction.
Maybe I don't really grasp the second life concept, but it seems silly and uncalled for. Our real lives offer us so much, and I doubt we want to look back at our youth/younger years and think "i spent it all on the computer." The world is huge and at at our fingertips at the same time. Instead of forming a second life..., Live your own.