IMVU and Virtual Societies

I just got into IMVU a few weeks ago. A friend told me that it's a great 3D chat where we can actually do some actions with your chatmates, such as dancing, shaking hands... or even doing some romance if both parties like it. As a researcher in psychology, I couldn't help myself to do my own personal research while playing IMVU. So far, I've found 3 categories of people who are actively engaged in IMVU. They are namely:

1. People who treat IMVU as another social networking device. Like Facebook, Myspace, etc., they consider IMVU to be the place to chat with distant relatives, friends, or special ones. These kinds of users usually prefer a light and 'surface-level' conversation before starting to develop closer relationships with new people.

2. People who take IMVU as their 'world'. It sounds pathetic, but we have to admit that some people have difficulty in coping with the 'real life'. Maybe it's just because they don't have enough time, or they don't have enough confidence due to some social limitations. Generally, they have inadequate self-esteem on their actual self, then IMVU is a great therapy so they can 'appear' in the way they prefer. Step by step, they will gain confidence in dealing with other people. Surprisingly, this kind of person is likely to be very open and friendly in IMVU. They hang out in public chat rooms and make as many friends as they can before they have to go back to their lonely reality. Hopefully, the presence of IMVU will help them to gain their life in reality.

3. People who take IMVU as a place to fulfill their fantasy. This kind of user is usually in their developing stages (teenagers) seeking another identity. Most of them do not care about having a social relationship with other users, and would likely to have direct approach to ask other users to commit some intimate courses with them. Most of the time, more mature users would not pay attention towards them, and they are more likely to be engaged with their own kind: Teenagers who seeks for intimate fantasy of their own.

We have to admit that social life, no matter in what form, is the goal of IMVU, Facebook, or any other social networking facilities. However, some people might have tendency to abuse the features. Therefore, our social awareness plays an important role in order to keep our virtual worlds peaceful and safe for every user. I love IMVU, where I can have some new friends, fun, and visual enhancement of some intimate activities with some chosen ones. However, I remind myself and the other users, to bear in mind that there is an obvious boundary between virtual and real worlds. Enjoy.