The specific struggle to distinguish "real life" (RL) from digital, virtual, or fictional experiences, especially when the latter have profound real-world consequences. It asks: Is the community you build in an MMO "real life"? Are the emotions you feel in VR "real"? The problem highlights that "real life" is often a value judgment ("go live your real life") used to dismiss experiences that are emotionally or socially valid but don't involve physical co-presence. The line is porous because digital actions (a tweet, a crypto trade) now create irreversible RL outcomes.
Example: "My mom said my online friends 'aren't real life.' But when I was depressed, they were the ones who called in a wellness check that saved me. The Real Life Demarcation Problem means the call from a voice I'd only ever heard on Discord was the most consequential, 'realest' intervention of my life. The care was real; the medium was incidental."
by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026
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