I sometimes hear folks complain about what a waste of time Pinterest is, or that they don’t have time to figure out how to navigate an avatar in the virtual worlds of OpenSim. I admit, I spend way too much time on these pursuits. Am I no better than my 15-year-old son on his Playstation 3? Are there any advantages to these particular addictions?
When I watch TV or read a book (two more serious addictions), I can nosh on just about any food in the process. In fact, eating and TV seem to go hand in hand in my unhealthy world, but repinning on Pinterest keeps my hands occupied. I can re-pin thirty recipes in a half hour and not eat a single chip. Now if I were a more motivated individual then I’d also cook those recipes, thereby gaining weight, but I much prefer to look at pretty food pictures and avoid the grocery store. Pinterest is like virtual magazines–all of them all together. I’ve always subscribed to magazines, looked at the bright pictures, clipped out the recipes and decorating ideas. Those clippings then lived in a shoe box for a while, and, if they were lucky, would get shifted into a file folder…never to be seen again. So Pinterest also saves on space and clutter and time wasted looking for those blasted scissors.
I’ve been hanging out in the Greyville Writers’ Colony in Nara’s Nook, a virtual world especially for writers. You may have heard of Second Life? This world may also seem somewhat familiar if you’re into gaming. Since I’m fairly new to dressing and walking my avatar, hanging out in virtual land takes a lot of time and concentration.
Plus point #1: I forget to eat. I may have virtual beers and pizza on my kitchen table, but they’re not nearly so appetizing as Papa John’s.
Plus point #2: free shopping therapy. Instead of wandering around the mall buying expensive clothes while sniffing the Food Park until I finally go buy a cinnamon pretzel, I save money and calories hitting a Freebie Mall in Metropolis. I can spend a couple of hours looking at clothes and furnishings, buy whatever the hell I want, and if I have buyer’s remorse, I just delete it from my inventory.
I do still have problems accidentally attaching the shoe box to my arm rather than the shoe in the box to my virtual foot, but one has to laugh at one’s self now and then, right? My friend had a tree stuck to his body the other day and didn’t have to call EMS. He just had to figure out the right button to push from the pull-down menu.
Plus #3 of the virtual world: I’m beautiful…or handsome, depending on which avatar I’m using. I’ve created a male avatar who represents Gabe from A TWISTED MAGICK and my female avatar currently looks a bit like Shylah, wavy black hair and all. So even if I do eat Papa John’s in the real world, my avatar is petite and trim all the time, thanks to the virtual gods.
Feel free to ask me more about Nara’s Nook and the virtual world. I could help you get going with an avatar and tour the Writers’ Colony dressed as your fave character.
~Shara