Understanding AFK Sex in Second Life

Last Updated on: 1st April 2024, 01:59 pm

AFK Sex in Second Life might seem peculiar. Maybe you’re thinking there’s little to explain, but let me unfold it anyway. Residents take their avatars, place them in specific locations, go AFK in real life, and voila! Your avatar turns into a pixel porn star, minus the communicative theatrics.

Why has AFK sex in Second Life caught so many eyes? With hundreds of sims exclusively for AFK sex, their profitability seems questionable. Yet, having experimented with our X-Sisters Sex Doll – Amy, the revenues are very real.

Misconceptions About AFK Sex in Second Life

You might have searched the web and found two confusing opinions about AFK sex in Second Life. Some people say it’s a waste of time with no cash-flow at all. Others say it’s a jackpot. But the truth is that neither is spot on. And the majority of these opinions come from people who have no idea what they’re talking bout.

Sure, there’s some lindens to be made in AFK, but don’t expect to hit the big leagues. Think of it as a part-time gig, maybe a little extra spending money. But leaving your avatar in an AFK sim around the clock for big money? Not quite. So why all the mixed messages?

Understanding Why Some Think AFK Sex in Second Life Isn’t Profitable

People tend to state their beliefs as if they’re hard facts. Thanks to social media, we’re pretty used to this by now. But surely it’s clear why some believe there’s no income in AFK sex. Visit any top-searched AFK sex sim, and you’ll most likely spot a field of AFK avatars lacking customers. And the few there might be? Mostly just hanging out at the landing spot. It can be quite daunting, or so I think, being surrounded by up to 100 AFK avatars.

The tip jars in these sims usually show a tidy sum of zero lindens. On the surface, it seems like AFK sex doesn’t pay off. But dig deeper, head to the less crowded spots down the list, and you’ll notice a change.

The fewer the people, the fuller the tip jars, surprisingly. So, what’s the deal with that?

The Virtual Walk of Shame – Promiscuity in Overcrowded AFK Sims

Nuria Pelechano wrote “Realistic Responses to Virtual Crowds,” discussing how we mirror our real-life behaviors even in Virtual Environments (VE). Apply this to AFK sex in Second Life, where your avatar might be having sex in front of 80 or so other AFK avatars. It could be a sensory challenge for anyone.

Let’s face it, public exposure might be fun for some (I’m raising my hand), but that’s still a lot of onlookers during what is generally a private moment. This can trigger thoughts like “this is embarrassing”, even when the desire to engage with the AFK avatar is high. More people equal more intensity of these feelings.

Granted, all these are my observations rather than proven facts, but they’re worth noting. However, I do have some solid facts to share.

Our Resident AFK Sex Doll in Second Life

As of this moment, Amy, our resident AFK RLV Sex Doll, has enjoyed an 18-day stay at the X-Sisters Sex Apartments. Most of her day is spent around the welcome area.

Though the majority of our apartments are occupied, we aren’t filled 24/7. Our daily traffic hovers between 1500-3000 – sizeable enough to dispel notions of a ghost town but far from busy in the conventional sense. It’s natural; people only spend so much time in their homes.

On average, a visitor or two stops by every couple of hours. Now let’s see how that pans out in numbers. Based on our visitor tracker over the past 14 days, we had:

153 unique visitors.
86 were men (about 53%)
67 were women (circa 47%)

Deciphering how many could be roaming bots is a bit hazy, though. But, as a wild guess, and this is not scientific in any way, lets say 10 of each were bots. That leaves 76 men and 57 women.

Who Are Our Visitors? – Decoding Intentions

Wondering why those visitors dropped by? Let’s look into some tracker data for clues. 23 men and 16 women went into one of the vacant apartments within a minute of arrival – they were probably looking for a new place to live. Filtering this out leaves us with:

54 men
51 women

To refine this further, let’s take off X-Girls and Barflies. These often swing by to check out apartments, maybe even rent one, or perhaps stumbled onto the wrong X-Sisters mistakenly in their search. After this deduction, we have:

41 men
35 women
76 total

Again, it’s unclear if any of them intended to find a home but skipped visiting the apartments or came in through this blog. But this is the pool we’re left with.

Observing the Happenings – A Close Look at Our Customers

It’s worth mentioning the X-Sisters Sex Apartments isn’t a regular AFK sim. It’s doesn’t have AFK in the name, it has two keyphrases in the description which are “AFK” and “sex bot”. Hence, these numbers might slightly stray from the overall AFK sex in Second Life industry averages. I’m not touting my findings as universal truths, but they offer interesting insights.

Here’s where things get interesting. None of the women in our visitor pool opted for the sex doll. Instantly, 46% of potential clients are out. That leaves 54%, or 41 men, as potential doll customers. Although the actual number of intended AFK sex seekers might be lower, it’s still worth investigating.

Among these 41 men, 9 hired the sex doll over a fortnight. Whether for an hour or two, they provided Amy with a total income of 1800L.

It’s not gonna send me to the penthouse suite, it won’t even cover a week’s rent! But it does represent 12% of potential clients from our pool who ended up hiring the doll.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, yes, I did keep a close eye on some of them. (Strangely, they all just take her to the sofa. Well, one took her to his apartment)

Building on Observations | Comparing AFK Avatars with Live Escorts

I’ve got a lot of data from over a year at the X-Sisters Sex Bar. Though I could crunch numbers and draw comparisons with live escorts, this isn’t about hard analytics. I can tell you that AFK avatars attract fewer customers than live ones, yet the percentage isn’t insignificant.

12% represents a solid chunk of passive income. Realistically, the percentage might be higher. I believe not all 76 remaining people in our visitor pool were looking for AFK sex. But I need to rely on the facts I’ve got.

Let’s frame this in broader terms. The 2023 average concurrency numbers for Second Life range from 29,000 to 46,000 individuals. Applying our 12% figure, we’re looking at somewhere between 3480 and 5520 people. It’s purely illustrative, but it does give you a sense of scale.

But what’s the secret sauce? Why is AFK sex in Second Life such a thing?

The Fantasy Factor in AFK Sex in Second Life

First off, let’s talk fantasy. The avatar might be unresponsive, but there could be a real person spectating from behind the scenes, right? I mean, I was certainly watching Amy’s interactions closely.

This fuels the notion of intimacy with a real person, minus the task of writing immersive emotes.

Next, it’s quite straightforward. Visit any escort sim and you’ll be swarmed for attention. It can feel daunting to turn down others to select your choice of escort. (Top tip: Go for who you want, we don’t let it bother us).

However, wouldn’t pornography be easier still? The answer returns to my first point, and one that I’ve written about previously. Virtual sex has an appeal that’s hard to match. Even with an AFK partner, the prospect of a real person being involved definitely heightens the arousal.

AFK sex is popular though not in the way many might imagine. It won’t make you a fortune, but it certainly isn’t fruitless either.

Most of Amy’s hires occurred between 7pm-11pm SLT. So, if you want to earn while you snore then park your avatar in an AFK sex sim for the night.

Understanding AFK Sex in Second Life | Exploring the Not-So-Hidden World