? Computer News Special Correspondent Feiyu Bingya Cangshanzi Li Ji
This is a world that more and more Chinese young people are involved in;
This is a world that is changing the traditional life of the Chinese people The world of concepts;
This is a world destined to undergo tremendous changes in the future;
This is the rising second society.
The term "second society" came into being with the development of network technology. As more and more people complete the transition from real life to virtual life, an emerging social form is emerging, a A new social model is waiting for us to create.
Second Society Survival Report
What is the Second Society? Our definition is: under the influence of the new economic wave, a complete social form formed with the Internet as the core and virtual applications as the basis. In this huge virtual social form, there are already producers, managers and consumers with a clear division of labor, and it has all the constituent elements of a real society. Behind the rise of this second society, powerful socioeconomic forces and virtual cultural forces are gathering, and they will in turn affect and change the real world.
The second society is not equal to the Internet, and the residents of the second society are not equal to Internet users. Compared with the technical nature of the Internet, the second society has stronger economic, cultural and social nature, and has a more comprehensive impact on the real society.
From an environmental perspective, online games and virtual communities are the two major components of the second society; from a quantitative perspective, the number of people in the second society has exceeded 130 million. Below is a comparison chart of the social structure of the real world and the second society (Figure 1). In every part, you can find a reflection of reality in the second society.
Managers
In the real world, managers are specialized government agencies responsible for the operation of the entire society; in the second society, the role of managers changes to commercial companies, Responsible for controlling the overall operation of the Second Society.
Producers and consumers
In the real world, producers and consumers are the two pillars. It is the back-and-forth cycle of production and consumption that constitutes the smooth operation of the entire society; In the second society, producers have become money-making studios and virtual builders of virtual communities, while consumers have become thousands of players in online games and residents of virtual communities.
Economic Foundation
No society can do without the economic foundation. In the real world, the national economy is the key to supporting society; in the second society, the virtual economy is promoting the expansion of the world with its vigorous development momentum.
Population structure
In the real world, the population structure is the elderly, young and middle-aged, and children; in the second society, the population structure becomes an ID number.
Comparison of the social structure of the real world and the Second Society
Character stories
Character: Shi Yuzhu
Second Society Social Class: Management
The second society is created by people in real society. Since it is a space created by people, it must have its managers. In 2004, Shi Yuzhu established Zhengtu Network, and then saw the opportunity to poach a group of Shanda's core developers, and thus "Zhengtu" was born.
Unlike ordinary managers who charge zone entry fees, Shi Yuzhu set up "Zhengtu" as a free place after establishing it. This is the so-called free online game. But if you want to survive in the world of "Zhengtu" and become a master, you need to spend money.
Shi Yuzhu is very smart. Not only does he not charge money, he also gives out money to players. Although the money has to be used for "Zhengtu", more and more people regard "Zhengtu" as a treasure. Coupled with tens of millions of funds spent on promotion and publicity, the highest number of simultaneous online users of "Zhengtu" reached 1.07 million in less than a year.
Soon, Giant Network replaced Zhengtu Network. From January to June 2007, Giant Network’s total revenue was 687 million yuan and net profit was 512 million yuan. On November 1, 2007, Giant was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $887 million and making 21 billionaires.
There are many second society managers like Shi Yuzhu, such as Chen Tianqiao, Lei Jun, Ding Lei, Ma Huateng, etc.
They use this world as a profit bargaining chip to promote the capital market of real society. The shares they hold give them huge wealth that ordinary people cannot imagine.
Character: Mu Duomi
Second Society Social Class: Producer
Mu Duomi is a very ordinary producer in the second society. We say producers because they are creating the wealth of the second society, but in the real world they have a more popular name, called power leveling or money making studio.
Mudomi's studio used to specialize in power leveling for others. He did all the games such as "Legend", "Miracle", "Swordsman Love", "Fantasy Westward Journey", "Lineage 2" and so on. However, when the number of people was the largest, his studio gathered more than 300 people, working in three shifts 24 hours a day, to act as an agent for players to level up their accounts. Mudomi said that because he lives in a small county town, the cost of living is low, and the wages paid to agent workers are also low. Most of them are children who have graduated from high school or even junior high school. They have nothing to do and like to play games. , seeing that power leveling can not only play games but also make money, everyone came here.
Muduomi revealed that if the business is good and the game operations are in relatively good condition, it will not be a problem to earn 100,000 yuan a month!
There are many studios like Mudomi across the country. They represent the production groups of the second society. Maybe their behavior is still irregular, but objectively it is It accelerates the currency circulation in the second society, prompts more people to consume, and accelerates the operation of the entire virtual economy.
Character: Asura
Second Society Social Class: Consumer
Different from the above two people who seek economic benefits in the second society, Asuras live in two worlds. He works in an advertising company during the day. When he comes home at night, if he doesn't need to catch up on cases, he will choose to enter the second social life!
His life in the second society is very happy. He feels that life in the second society is very simple and not as complicated as the real society. However, there are still many places where you need to spend money in the second society. Asura found a girlfriend on "Online Family" and goes on dates with her every day. It costs money to watch movies in "cinema" and to eat in "café". Money, it costs money to have a wedding. In this way, it costs about 10 yuan every day.
Asura also raised an electronic pet named Maomao in the second society. The process of raising this dog is similar to that in real life, including buying dog food, going to pet hospitals, and pet beauty salons. This not only costs money but also a lot of time and effort.
A year later, Asura did some calculations. He spent a total of 5,000 yuan in the second society this year, which was lower than his cost of living in the real society. . The real world and the second society represent two life stages and two living conditions. Ashura represents exactly this kind of consumer group living in the second society.
The Great Migration of Youth
The three major links of manufacturing, production, and consumption constitute a second society that is no different from the real world. It’s just that life in the second society is simpler and purer. It is also because of this simplicity and purity that it has become a big stage for the young generation to escape reality and seek a sense of accomplishment. Therefore, when the second society rose, young people migrated from the real society to the second society, and they became the main force promoting the development of the second society!
In 2007, the large-scale American virtual community "Second Life" had more than 8.5 million members worldwide. In the first half of 2007, the online games "Fantasy Westward Journey", "Journey" and "World of Warcraft" all had more than 1 million people online at the same time, and more than 60% of the players were under the age of 30. The "immigration" of human beings from the real world to the virtual world is an irreversible trend. In China, with the development of economy, broadband network has become popular, Internet users have grown rapidly, and young people are migrating to the second society in large numbers.
When young people enter the second society, they become real residents of this world: games, entertainment, making friends, fighting, treasure hunting, raising pets, starting a business, and even Buy a house, get married, have children. And all of this has had a huge impact on the younger generation.
Language
This impact is first reflected in language expression. Since communication in the second society is mostly through keyboard typing of characters, simplicity and speed are a must. Therefore, today's youth have also developed concise language habits, pursuing personalized expression and not being restricted by traditional grammar.
Whether it is the previous Internet language or the later rise of Martian literature, although controversy has always existed, it has indeed had a subtle influence on the young generation, and this influence has been brought into real life by the young people.
Communication
Another major impact that entering the second society has on young people is interpersonal communication. In the second society, there are no geographical restrictions, the scope of young people's communication is wider, and they come into contact with more and more people. Therefore, young people can also learn more ways to communicate with others, which is beneficial to communicating with others in real life. In addition, because you can come into contact with people from different regions in the second society, global culture is also inherited and developed through interactions.
Thoughts
Life in the second society may superficially change young people’s behavior patterns and life and friendship habits, but in essence it changes the thinking of a generation. Because today's young generation leads an unrestrained life in the second society, they are more daring to try and innovate when they return to real life. Taking risks has become a fashion in their lives. Various personalized pursuits make their lives full of novelty and colorful.
The second society is no longer the reinforced concrete structure that people once imagined, but a network-based graphical virtual city.
The digital divide between two generations
There is a saying nowadays that there is a generation gap every two years. This sentence reflects from the side the rapid changes in social development, which has brought about huge changes in various concepts for people of different age groups. With the advent of the Internet age, the second society has also emerged. People's consumption concepts and ways of thinking are undergoing great changes, and a digital divide has begun to appear between the two generations.
To this end, the reporter visited a father and son who live in the same city, and gave a question: "I give you 50,000 yuan, how do you spend it?" to see how people of different eras treat money. , what are the differences in consumption concepts?
Middle-aged:
Live a real life
Name: Zhuang Xun
Age: 57 years old
Gender: Male
Occupation: Retired
Confessions of Consumers:
This 50,000 yuan is a lot of money for us old people. If I had it at my disposal, I would divide it into three parts: saving, investing, and enjoying. Put part of it in the bank first, not because you will see the interest rate increase, but because you feel more at ease if you put it in the bank, and you can use it in the future when you are old, sick, or dead. Then I also follow other people's example of buying funds. The risk of stocks is too great, but the risk of funds is much lower. In addition, after retirement, in order to avoid boring life and open a small book and newspaper store, it will make life more fulfilling and give me hope. Finally, I have never traveled far for most of my life, and I want to take my wife on a trip to see the wonderful places in our motherland.
Comments from this newspaper: For the elderly, traditional methods and real material needs are their consumption habits. In their lives and work, they have almost no contact with computers and the Internet, so they It is impossible to equate the consumption of virtual items on the Internet with real life. With the advent of the Internet era, when we say that the elderly have conservative consumption concepts, it no longer means that they are reluctant to spend money, but more that they only target consumption in real life. It seems that it is difficult for their traditional thoughts and feelings to blend with the illusory scenes.
Youth:
Going for gold in the second society
Name: Zhuang Xu
Age: 26 years old
Gender: Male
Occupation: Programmer
Consumer Confession:
50,000 yuan is not a lot, but a lot less. If I were asked to do this If Internet bugs come to spend time, they will probably be used in the second society. I have always dreamed of opening a clothing store. After I got the money, I first wanted to buy a store in "Second Life". Now that it is very popular, I will definitely make money. Then I want to open an online game earning studio. Because I love playing games, it can be regarded as a hobby. The above two expenses are not small, but regardless of the scale, there should be some leftover, so I will buy some sophisticated equipment for my warriors in "World of Warcraft" and some Q coins to facilitate future online shopping.
Computer News Comment:
The young generation who have been influenced by the Internet since childhood can no longer see the obvious boundary between real life and the second society in their hearts. Due to their familiarity with the Internet and its convenience, personalization and other characteristics, today's young people are more willing to go to the virtual world to consume and even pan for gold.
Compared with the consumption concepts of the older generation, it is not difficult to see that the younger generation is more willing to take risks and is more casual in consumption and entrepreneurship. Therefore, the Internet has changed not only people's lives, but also their thoughts.
Our opinion: The second society will become the driving force of the real world
What changes will happen to the second society in the future? Our judgment is that it will have a strong impact on the real world, and this impact is inevitable.
The impact will mainly focus on two aspects - economic and cultural.
In the economic field, the impact of the second society has rewritten traditional economic theories, and the virtual economy has been incorporated into the national economic model. The economy of the second society has changed the trajectory of the traditional economy. It reduces intermediate costs, inventory and working capital, creating new and equal entrepreneurial opportunities for everyone. As a result, the way of wealth accumulation has changed, bank investment has been taken advantage of by venture capital, and the way of material creation has begun to undergo qualitative changes.
The rise of the second society also brings countless economic opportunities to the real world. The vigorous development of the second society will inevitably create countless new jobs. Emerging positions such as software engineers, virtual item designers, network security experts, and online brokers will generate huge demand for employment. This is undoubtedly good news for the ongoing unemployment problem in the real world.
With the changes in the economic field, the second society has a more profound impact on the real world on people's ideological and culture.
The culture of the second society is completely different from any previous cultural concepts. It has no formula and no standard. More importantly, the real society's recognition of the seemingly nihilistic thing like the second society is itself a subversion of traditional thought and culture. From this perspective, the second society will inevitably change the ideology and culture in the real world in the future, and change and innovation will become the mainstream of the ideology and culture of the young generation.
In addition, the scope of the cultural role of the second society has been expanded, the effect of culture has been infinitely amplified, and it has become possible to become famous overnight. In particular, the culture of the second society is two-way and interactive, turning people from passive recipients of culture to active creators of culture. This is different from previous one-way cultural activities such as reading, reading newspapers, and watching movies. Audiences become cultural builders through comments and participation: forum posts can shock society, and community outrage can reveal criminals.
Our conclusion is that the second society is rising and is having an unprecedented impact on this society, thus pushing the real world forward.