Real life
From Wikinfo
- For criticism see Criticism of Real_life
Real life is a phrase or term referring to life in the real world. It is most used to mean life or consensus reality outside of an environment that is generally seen as fiction or fantasy, such as something on the Internet, virtual reality, a dream, a novel, a movie, a hallucination, or a delusion. Online the acronym IRL can mean "in real life", with the meaning "not on the Internet"[1] (see below.)
It is sometimes used synonymously with real world to mean one's existence after he or she is done with schooling and is no longer supported by parents, i.e. the practical world versus the academic world.[2] A person with experience in "real life" or "the real world" has experience beyond book learning.
Real life can be a controversial term. Some people use it as a value judgement to describe "productive" activities, specifically jobs or the support of one's family. However, many speakers use the phrase in an ironic sense to describe an alternative to their own activities, which may be valued as more important.
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Online
The abbreviation RL stands for "real life", with the meaning "not on the Internet." For example, one can speak of meeting in RL someone whom one has met in chat or on an Internet forum, or of an inability to use the Internet for a time due to "RL problems".
The phrase "in real life" is often replaced with the acronym IRL. Some prefer the expression face-to-face, abbreviated f2f. Some internet users use the idioms face time or meatspace, which contrasts with the term "cyberspace".
In virtual conversations, "RL" is often used to refer to the nonvirtual world as if it were a separate place. This is especially true when the virtual location is realistic and engaging enough that someone might confuse the "real life" subject of the conversation with its virtual equivalent.
In literature
Authors, as a rule, attempt to select and portray types rarely met with in their entirety, but these types are nevertheless more real than real life itself.
The Real Life comic strip is named after the concept of a divide between the internet and reality.
See also
| Look up real life in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
References
- ^ ""AcronymFinder.com search for IRL"". http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=IRL.
- ^ "Definition of "real life"". WordNet Search. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=real%20life. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ "Fyodor Dostoyevsky: The Idiot: Part IV: Chapter I". The Free Online Library. http://dostoyevsky.thefreelibrary.com/The-Idiot/4-1#real+life. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Real life. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of this Wikinfo article is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. |
