Virtual Worlds have been around for quite some time. Some
sources point back to as far as 15-18 years depending on what was considered a
virtual world. As a kid I watched a few movies that hinted at the future being
controlled by computers and we would soon live in virtual worlds. It was
always difficult to see that happening because we were so dependent on the real
world, we could not forsee how that would even work. Smart phones were not
around and we depended on pay phones or land lines to communicate with one
another or mailed a letter if you had to send a note with a picture. We did not
have smart phones or networked computers in those times so the thought of
virtual worlds did not cross many people’s minds. Gamers may have thought of
virtual worlds more than the common person because the games were a form of
fantasy that they would engage their time and senses.
Now comes a future, with all of this new technology and
virtual world possibilities that we could never have dreamed of as a kid. The
3D technology has become so advanced that some people can become completely
immersed in a virtual world. Many people spend tremendous amounts of hours in
these worlds. It becomes such an obsession for some that it takes away from family time and social time with real world friends. There are many uses for
this technology. The Second
Life video hit real close to home. As someone living with MS, I can relate
to this video. My situation is not as dire but I definitely have limitations
that prevent me from doing certain things that I enjoyed in my younger years. I
can not do as many physical activities as I once did as a teenager and I have a number of issues like fatigue and memory loss, to name a couple. I have to
be very careful but in this virtual world your imagination can run wild. It
allows you to be free to create what ever your imagination comes up with. This is the wonderful
part of this. We have to be careful though. This can also cause you to depend
on this virtual reality so much that you may have problems being social in the real
world. In my opinion, human interaction is so important in someone’s life. A
computer can not replace that.
One of the coolest articles I read was called I've
Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life. I used to live in the Lower East Side and I still go there a lot because my
mom and many of my friends are still in the area. It is so surreal to see this
recreated in a virtual world. It helps you appreciate and relive some of your
old memories by visiting places you can’t physically get to at the moment. The
nostalgia of it would do wonders for people because childhood memories usually
live strong in our minds. We all have said things like “I remember going to a
certain place when we were younger and we wish we could do it again”. This type
of virtual world can make some of that happen for you. This definitely can help
feed some of your appetite but it can’t replace the real world experience. For
some people it may actually have the opposite effect. It can make them miss the real world
experience even more.
The article titled In Room
100, It's Sid and Nancy All Over Again, I found fascinating in that someone’s
creativity was fostered by there want to make the hotel stay the way it was
down to the crime scene in room 100. It was funny to hear that the “mailboxes”
were missed and they made sure that it was a focal point of the recreation. The
ability to make anything as it once was or change it to how you would have
liked it to look can even create architectural jobs for certain people. If you created
something that a builder may fancy, that virtual project may have a chance to
become reality. There are a number of skills that can be utilized in the real
world and you wouldn’t even know it initially. This type of creativity breeds
new ideas that can be used by big businesses because they are always looking for
ways to stay ahead of the competition.
The future will bring about new ways to use these virtual
worlds. The creativity that will spawn from here will allow us to do anything
without leaving your home. Businesses will most likely create ways to sell there products in
these worlds. In the very near future, (if it hasn’t happened already) you will
be able to recreate yourself down to your actual weight and size in these virtual
worlds. This may allow you to try on clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc… just like
you would in real life and make purchases that way. You may test drive cars or
go house hunting with a real estate agent, all in a virtual environment. The
possibilities are endless. There will be millions of people out there that
would flock to this. This makes it easier to sell to anyone, anywhere in the
world. It is amazing to see how far we have come with technology.
Sources cited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1363921738-Z4K9JcOH73hXnmJPa7T0pg
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/thecity/03virt.html
