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Real life is a term referring to life in the real world
Reality

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist". In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that being, whether or not it is observation or comprehension....
. It is generally used in reference to life
Personal life

File:Roscheid Hunsr?ckhaus innen.jpgPersonal life is the course of an individual human's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's Identity ....
 or consensus reality
Consensus reality

Consensus reality is an approach to answering the question 'What is reality?', a profound philosophy question, with answers dating back millennia; it is almost invariably used to refer to human consensus reality, though there have been mentions of feline and canine consensus reality....
 in contrast with of an environment seen as fiction
Fiction

Fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. Although the word fiction is derived from the Latin fingo, fingere, finxi, fictum, "to form, create", works of fiction need not be entirely imaginary and may include real people, places, and events....
 or fantasy
Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
, such as the Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
, virtual reality
Virtual reality

Virtual reality is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, whether that environment is a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world....
, dream
Dream

Dreams are sequence s, sounds and feelings experienced while sleeping, strongly associated with rapid eye movement sleep. The contents and biological purposes of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history....
s, novel
Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
s, or movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
s. Online, the acronym IRL means "in real life," with the meaning "not on the Internet"

"Real life" can be a controversial term, as it can serve as value judgement to describe "productive" activities, like work and the support of one's family, in contrast to "unproductive" leisure activities.






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Real life is a term referring to life in the real world
Reality

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist". In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that being, whether or not it is observation or comprehension....
. It is generally used in reference to life
Personal life

File:Roscheid Hunsr?ckhaus innen.jpgPersonal life is the course of an individual human's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's Identity ....
 or consensus reality
Consensus reality

Consensus reality is an approach to answering the question 'What is reality?', a profound philosophy question, with answers dating back millennia; it is almost invariably used to refer to human consensus reality, though there have been mentions of feline and canine consensus reality....
 in contrast with of an environment seen as fiction
Fiction

Fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. Although the word fiction is derived from the Latin fingo, fingere, finxi, fictum, "to form, create", works of fiction need not be entirely imaginary and may include real people, places, and events....
 or fantasy
Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
, such as the Internet
Internet

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available server and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory....
, virtual reality
Virtual reality

Virtual reality is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, whether that environment is a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world....
, dream
Dream

Dreams are sequence s, sounds and feelings experienced while sleeping, strongly associated with rapid eye movement sleep. The contents and biological purposes of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history....
s, novel
Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
s, or movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
s. Online, the acronym IRL means "in real life," with the meaning "not on the Internet"

"Real life" can be a controversial term, as it can serve as value judgement to describe "productive" activities, like work and the support of one's family, in contrast to "unproductive" leisure activities. Indeed, outside of fictional worlds, the phrase is often used to contrast a more traditional way of living against a pejorative
Pejorative

Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt. When used as an adjective, pejorative is synonymous with derogatory, derisive, dyslogistic, and contemptuous....
ly depicted existence such as academic life
Academia

Academia, Academe, or the Academy are collective terms for the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research....
, in a manner similar manner to the term "real world". A person with experience in "real life" or "the real world" has experience beyond book learning.

In its use as a contrast of fictional worlds or fictional universe
Fictional universe

A fictional universe is a consistency fictional setting with unique background elements such as an imaginary history or geography, and possibly fantasy or science fiction concepts like magic or faster than light travel....
s against the consensus reality of the reader, the term has a long history:

In its use for differentiating personal worlds created on the Internet from "offline" life, the term naturally has a much shorter history and a more unclear future. Sociologists engaged in the study of the internet have theorized that someday a distinction between online and real life worlds may seem "quaint", noting that certain types of online activity, such as business transactions, have already made a full transition to complete legitimacy and "reality".

Uses

The abbreviation
Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase....
 RL stands for "real life". For example, one can speak of meeting in RL someone whom one has met in chat
Chat

Chat may refer to:...
 or on an Internet forum
Internet forum

An , or 'message board', is an online discussion site. It is the modern equivalent of a traditional bulletin board, and a technological evolution of the dialup bulletin board system....
, or of an inability to use the Internet for a time due to "RL problems". The phrase "in real life" is often similarly replaced with the acronym IRL. Some prefer the expression face-to-face, abbreviated f2f. Some internet users use the idioms face time
Face time

Face time is interaction or contact between two or more people at the same time and location . Face time therefore occurs in "real life" or "meatspace" and contrasts primarily with interaction or contact which occurs over distance and/or electronically ....
 or meatspace
Meatspace

Meatspace is a word referring to real life or the real world, and conceived as the opposite of cyberspace or virtual reality.The term has appeared in in the Financial Times, in science fiction literature, specifically the cyberpunk genre....
, which contrasts with the term "cyberspace
Cyberspace

Cyberspace — from the Greek language — is the global domain of electro-magnetics accessed through electronic technology and exploited through the modulation of electromagnetic energy to achieve a wide range of communication and control system capabilities....
".

See also

  • Meatspace
    Meatspace

    Meatspace is a word referring to real life or the real world, and conceived as the opposite of cyberspace or virtual reality.The term has appeared in in the Financial Times, in science fiction literature, specifically the cyberpunk genre....
  • Off-line
  • The Matrix
    The Matrix

    The Matrix is a science fiction film-action film written and directed by Wachowski brothers and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving....