Canoodling between the sheets/screens

Is romance, even love, in a virtual context of any real life relevance? This question was posed in FTVMS314 Technoculture & New Media, largely in reference to romances in Second Life. My initial answer was mostly no, because true personal connections require physical contact. And yet many a romance exists in virtual spaces, whether games or otherwise. Dating websites, for example, have taken up millions of patrons on their search for love. Are games like Second Life or other MMO's any less valid of formats for sparking up relationships?

I've known many people to find and maintain friendships via MMO's, which I can see as a perfectly valid venture. Platonic connections based on mutual interest are viable in any setting. What makes romance any different? Am I that primitive that I cannot conceive of a meaningful relationship that doesn't involve physical contact, much less ever meeting the other person? Is the emotional connection felt through virtual interaction and communication not enough? As history attests, relationships have existed over the centuries as long as partners are able to communicate. In a setting like Second Life, with all its exotic wonder, avatars have the perfect settings for fostering romance whilst players communicate and interact. And avatars, as any investment in virtual spaces, are an extension of the player's self. Indeed there are entire websites devoted to helping players find romantic hotspots, get married, and even simulate sex. If a player's self-extension is able to participate in these activities as a substitute for real life limits, who is to say the emotional experience derived and shared is any less valid?

I still find it hard to validate a relationship that is merely based on communication and virtual interaction. But with online spaces presenting more of a grey area than anything before in our lifetime, maybe that will change.