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Virtual Marriages By 2015
Get married in Second Life? Gartner research analyst Adam Sarner is predicting that two percent of US citizens will get married in virtual worlds by 2015. These virtual marriages will have all the same legal implications of real-world marriages.
People can already get married in Second Life, but it doesn't have any legal meaning.
Sarner (demonstrating that he has some potential as a futurist) is also predicting that some of the marriages will fail miserably; all of these people will need appropriate services.
Sarner doesn't seem to be aware of it, but there is already an interesting trend in India's high-tech couples that could give some credence to his idea. Some couples voluntarily separate for a year or more at a time to further their careers; the husband may be sent to the U.S. while his wife stays in India. In the past, couples have reunited on vacations to have children; now, however, some choose to have the husband bank some sperm so that the wife can conceive on a more relaxed schedule.
So, two people could get married in Second Life, never meet, and yet have children together. Can babies have avatars? Would they be cute? What if you set up a baby cam and baby intercom and connected it to your computer; could your other half "watch the baby" in Second Life?
I find myself hoping that most of us choose to do it the old-fashioned way.
I think the online connection is powerful enough to have these legal marriages online, Sarner says. The point is the emotional connection they have will be strong enough that they want to make it forever.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/28/2007)
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