Is Second Life a Culture Industry?

I have been debating this question in my head for a while, is Second Life just another form of a culture industry? I have written my theory to this question three times, first I agreed it was, then I disagreed, and now, hopefully for the last, I will argue that it is.

The ideas of Theodor Adorno are largely influenced by Karl Marx and hence offer a critique on capitalist societies. Culture industry suggests that there is an upper-class or ruling system that dominates material production, and simultaneously controls the mental production of society. These material factories create commodities that manipulate the public into passivity through the easy pleasure of consumption. Consumption then, provides a pseudo-individualism that camouflages problems such as class distinctions. The media helps by clouding peoples mind with ideas that the ruling class wish them to have in order to distract the public from real issues such as; poverty, racism, sexism, etcetera.

Because the culture industry criticizes a capitalist society, to apply it to Second Life would mean that Second Life has a capitalist economy. In a capitalist society wealth is privately controlled by individuals or corporations and largely free of government intervention. Second Life runs very similar to a capitalist society, depending on ones skills, the money they make will reflect this. The difference is that Second Life was developed by Linden Labs who act as god over the distribution of wealth and land. Linden Labs can be seen as the government in a virtual capitalist society where politics are not an integral issue.

Second Life is a virtual world, but a world nonetheless; therefore it has a majority of the same problems which exist in real life. There are class distinctions in Second Life; you need money in order to buy material goods such as nice clothing, houses, or objects. The more time you spend in this virtual world the easier it is to notice these distinctions. It is relatively easy to notice who is a “newb” or who has little amounts of Linden dollars.

Additionally, there is a form of industry present; you would think in a virtual life that everything would be perfect. But consumption is still present, and in order to consume as in real life, you need a job to get money. In Second Life money is earned by producing goods, doing random things for companies, or buying it from Linden Labs with real world dollars. Consumption from the culture industry maintains the economy; avatars need to work in Second Life, or in real life and transfer the money.

In Second Life if you do not conform or adapt to how the residents live in the world by consuming you will feel alienated. The culture industry can be fought, such as converting your avatar to a robot, not conforming to rules, not working, or not consuming, but you will feel alienated by others except for in niche places. When I first started out, one person commented that no one will ever talk to me because of the way I looked. My character only had on the custom clothing offered by the 'do-it-yourself' creator, instead of purchasing items from stores.

Media is also present, depending on where you are in Second Life; it feels as if there is more of a commercial push on the residents then in real life. Everywhere I turn advertisements are being shoved down Malmi's throat, buy this, go here, and do that, blah, blah, blah. The media provides momentary gratifications for the alienated spirit; they distract the alienated individual from his or her misery.

Through my virtual travels I have found that a majority of Second Life users 'play' only because they like to socialize with others. But it is hard to dismiss the fact that some people are buying Linden bucks with real world money to purchase things in the game. These people are getting pleasure through consumption, just in a virtual world, Adorno would consider them passive.

In Second Life you can be whoever you want to be. The culture industry would consider this an illusion, you have individual choices and decisions to make, but in reality you are being motivated and manipulated by forces out of your own control. The pseudo-individualism in Second Life popular culture allows users to be content when purchasing virtual goods. In the end, everything is shaped by the economic system of the society, akin to Theodor Adorno’s theory of the culture industry.