Why second Life scares the hell out of me

Imagine a world where there are no boundaries, no limits to who a person can be and no limits to the imagination. That world is second life. For some reason as I read all about this virtual world filled with everything from lessons on how to build a piano, to learning in a virtual classroom I am reminded that there is lacking (in my view) a human element in this medium. I am fully aware however that some would say it is the human element that makes this medium what it is. But what of the face to face element of communication? Is it really possible to live in a world that in all respects is real except for the fact that humans can never physically touch one another? Second life reminds me of a dream world where the participants practice "lucid" dreaming-that is, where you know you are dreaming and can control the dream, what the dream is, and what the dream does. No limits! You are the pilot of the dream. I have had such dreams and although these dreams can be pleasurable, they are not real. Second life is a powerful alternative to the real world and in my opinion has the potential to be as addictive to some as crack cocaine. It reminds me of an episode from Star trek Voyager where the crew had discovered this alien species that lived their lives asleep in the "waking world". This alien life form lived out its life in a dream state instead and what was dreamed was actually the alien's real world. But in reality the aliens body had become weak and easily conquered because all the energy was focused in the dream world state rather than the one in the waking world. This dream world actually made it vulnerable. I think second life is fascinating, yet terrifying because it has the ability to totally consume the energies that could otherwise be spent building a real, physical, relational, emotional world in the physical life. It looks like a substitute for what we as humans were meant to be-real, breathing, bleeding human beings connected via touch and face to face contact.