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Real Life
*** Shopping-Tip: Real Life
: ''This article is about the phrase. For other uses, see
Real Life.''
The phrase '''''
real life''''' can have multiple meanings. It is most often used to mean life outside of an environment that is generally seen as
fiction or
fantasy, such as something on the
Internet, a
dream, a
novel, a
Film movie, a
hallucination, or a
delusion.
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 verses the academic world. 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. In this case, "real life" activities are seen as "better" than other activities, such as playing video games or surfing the internet. However, many speakers use the phrase in an
irony ironic sense to describe an alternative to their own activities, which may be valued as more important.
On the internet
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 a
Internet forum, or of inability to use the Internet for a time due to "RL problems".
"In real life" is often abbreviated '''IRL'''. This produces an amusing counterpoint with
IRC. The two abbreviations are often used in contrast with one another in IRC conversations. Some prefer the expression '''face-to-face''', abbreviated '''f2f'''. (NOTE: The abbreviation IRL is often used to refer to the Auto Racing
Indy_Racing_League Indy Racing League)
Some
cyberspace cybernauts use another idiom to convey the concept of "real life" or "in real life":
meatspace, which contrasts with the cyberspace of Internet life.
History
This phrase may relate to the American saying "
Get a Life", allegedly popularised by
William Shatner on the
television show ''
Saturday Night Live''. In a
1986-12-20 sketch called "16th Annual Star Trek Convention", Shatner played himself interacting with a group of
Trekkie ''Star Trek'' fans.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694510/] The phrase in the show implied that none of the fans had a "real life", and that they needed to move out of their parents' basement, get a
employment job, a
girlfriend, and buy a house with a
mortgage.
Alternate definitions
An online joke about a fictional thing.
References 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 Idiot (novel) The Idiot by
Fyodor Dostoyevsky [http://dostoyevsky.thefreelibrary.com/The-Idiot/4-1#real+life]
See also
*
quality time
*
meatspace
*
off-line
{{unsourced}}
Category:Internet slang
da:IRL
de:Real Life (Netzkultur)
nl:IRL
'''Real Life''' may refer to:
*The phrase "
real life"
*
Real Life (band), a 1980s Australian New Wave band
*''
Real Life (comic)'', a webcomic
*''
Real Life (TV series)'', an Australian television series
*''
Real Life (Magazine album)'', a 1978 album by Magazine
*''
Real Life (Simple Minds album)'', a 1991 album by Simple Minds
*''
Real Life (RJ Helton album)'', a 2004 album by RJ Helton
*''
Real Life (film)'', a 1979 film directed by Albert Brooks
*''Real Life: The Story of a Survivor'', a 1986 autobiography by singer and novelist
Marsha Hunt (singer and novelist) Marsha Hunt
{{disambig}}
*** Shopping-Tip: Real Life
