Virtual relationships as satisfying as physical ones

VWN is reporting a study by LMU professor R. Gilbert suggests that most of those surveyed who are involved in a romantic relationship in Second Life find the relationship to be as or more satisfying than ones in which participants are engaged in the physical world.

Users surveyed as part of the studies rated their virtual world relationships better in the five categories of marital satisfaction than their real-world relationships. Half of respondents felt they could communicate better with their Second Life partner than their real-life partner. One-third of respondents said they felt a “stronger connection” to their Second Life partner.

Obviously, there are many factors that impact such reported feelings — length of relationship, ability to portray ideals of physical beauty, etc. — nevertheless, this report is more solid evidence that people form real, lasting, meaningful bonds in immersive synthetic environments, such as virtual worlds, simulations, and serious multiplayer games.