Second Life's low population density
One of the things that comes up repeatedly in third-party discussions about Second Life is the low population density, often with concern that it represents some manner of deficiency or failure. Two general points are made: Firstly that the Second Life grid lacks the ability to support very high densities, and second that the Second Life grid is largely "a deserted wasteland", due to the low active population per square metre. Take a moment to imagine the digital tumbleweeds.
Actually, there's a good reason for the second, and it makes the first rather irrelevant. Sure, the population density is low — because, apparently, that's the way the users prefer it. Many individuals might prefer higher population densities within Linden Lab's virtual environment, but as an aggregate population Second Life users tend to actively select against that in practice.
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The majority of Second Life users come from urban areas with moderate to high population densities. Given the option of a townhouse or a half-acre in the same physical location, at the same cost, most would opt for the larger space rather than the smaller — absent any increase in actual property value.
Humans like space, and this is something of an urban-sprawl problem, because Second Life users can actually have it. When mainland (Linden-Estate) space is not being generated in proportion to growth of the active user-population, users buy islands to make up the space. We're not sure what the target density is that the user-population is striving for, but signs are that it is somewhat lower than it presently appears to be.
It has been suggested that introversion may represent a factor in further reducing the target density yet further. Figures place introverts at 25-30% of an average population, however the tendency towards introverted personality traits increases markedly among the gifted, and anecdotal evidence suggests that introversion also rises as a function of education. Among the highly gifted and educated, the percentage of introverted personalities dominates.
As to whether the user-population of Second Life contains a higher percentage of extroverts than is typical in an average society — we have no hard data on that. Based on unscientific observation we would say that the population is only slightly above average, and not sufficiently so to excessively skew the data.
It is far more likely that Second Life's 'ownership unit' is trending towards the simulator. At sub-simulator levels, any other land-owner within the same simulator can intentionally or unintentionally degrade your online experience.
In the end, many of us live on far smaller properties in the physical world than we prefer. Most of us hear, see and smell plenty more of our RL neighbors than we'd prefer. Especially at 2AM.
It's hardly surprising that given the opportunity to have more space, we spread out, seeking locations where neighbors are logged in at other times than ourselves, giving us peace, space and freedom — or at least a reasonable and workable facsimile.