Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

      Virtual worlds can be used in various ways nowadays. Virtual worlds can provide an opportunity for the people who have disabilities to communicate and interact in real world. Residents of digital realm can represent themselves with 3-D images called avatars and connect with each other over the Internet. Also, in avatar world, people can live their lives in the way they want without concerning their financial budgets. In deed, there was an increasing in spending in the virtual worlds throughout the recession in real world. As we can see the examples I mentioned so far, the virtual worlds can be good in the way of giving us a second life. However, we can find some disadvantages as well.

The biggest problem of the virtual world is that it will decrease human interaction in the real world. This will lead another problem. If the virtual environments become much higher quality, they will become attractive to those wishing to escape from the real life. More negatively, the virtual world can lead people to have low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness and insignificance, even self-destructive acts. 
    
The virtual worlds already became very similar to the real world. People can buy the stuff  which we have in real life and make family or work in the virtual worlds. In the future, I think people even will be able to smell the food they eat with their avatars and they might have to actually use their body physically to work and live in the worlds. Thus, it will make people more confused about distinguishing the virtual worlds and real world.

Citation

1. No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You by RUTH LA FERLA, the New York Times, Oct 22, 2009 p. E1. Available at:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html
2. iReport: 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction by Nicole Saidi, CNN, March 28, 2008. available from:http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText