Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

There are a variety of reasons why people are present in the virtual world. One reason includes normalizing life for those that don’t have the privilege of living a “normal life”.  For example, according to Nicole Saidi, who wrote an article on CNN, the virtual world can help people with autism interact with the other people in a social setting. Someone with autism, like Bracken in the article, was able to use chat rooms and discover that people were using emojis/symbols to express themselves. At the same time, a scientist quotes “Although not much research is yet available, there is clearly considerable potential in use of new technologies for fostering social skills.” However, it is not to say that the virtual world is only beneficial for individuals that have autism. Virtual worlds also help individuals who have emotional, social and communication issues to foster social networking skills. On the other hand, individuals that are using virtual worlds as the only form of communication can forget how to assimilate into the real world. The purpose of using the chat rooms is to help develop social skills but it can become a problem if the individual doesn’t learn how to interact with others in a real-life setting.

Another way virtual worlds are being used is by sharing a variety types of interest. For example, individuals can share an interest in music, but the genre can be different. The virtual world has a way of sharing those different genres, and in a way, preserving it at the same time. At the same time, virtual worlds have a way of making these experiences “just as real” as interactions that happen face to face. “There’s no way that you’re going to go onto a flat web site or message board and instantly strike up a conversation […] but these things are possible in virtual worlds.” Some individuals have the conception that virtual interactions are fake but what’s making them less real than the ones that are experiences face-to-face. On the other hand, there is a fine line between reality and virtual reality. A con connected with using virtual worlds as a form of communicating is that the person will soon begin to blend the two together. Being solely present online is not mentally healthy if the individual begins to reply on it to develop personal relationships and that is the only way they are able to interact with another person.

In the future, I can see virtual reality being an issue more than a benefit. Virtual reality does have a way of fostering creativity, where artists are able to share their form of art and simultaneously being exposed to other types of artwork and music styles. However, on the other hand, if individuals forget how to interact in real life, they may forget personal, people-to-people relationships and that can cause issues in their real life. I think in the near future; virtual reality will play a big role in people’s lives. Even today, I see companies use telepresence as a way of communication and as we progress and as technology progresses, virtual worlds and online communication will just become an even larger part of everyone’s life.