In today's society, virtual worlds have become quite popular. Virtual worlds can be used for personal, educational, and professional situations. It lets you socially interact with others and do the things you would like to do in the actual/real world. Mark Tutton of CNN explains that many businesses are using the virtual world to cut down on travel expenses since the recession. This way the virtual world could be used as a conference meeting to bring together business partners from all over the country and world. This became a way to share ideas among each other and still talk business. Another way the virtual world is being used is to train nurses into making decisions. Stephanie Simon, author of Avatar II: The Hospital, states “Health-care facilities are discovering that practicing in the virtual world can have major benefits in real life.” Nurses are faced with scenarios where their decision could save lives or endanger the lives of others. Creativity is shown by the way people use the virtual world. Seeing that someone felt that the virtual world could be used for many different activities shows that creativity is forever changing the way we use the internet.
There are also negatives that come from these virtual platforms. Often times, people can be very mean to each other in these worlds, meaner than they would normally be if they were talking to someone face to face. The reason for this is the removal of physical presence. Humans will be more willing to be mean to each other if there is no chance for recourse, whether it be physical or otherwise. Also, continuing on that point of anonymity, people are willing to commit “virtual crimes” more quickly than they would commit those came crimes in real life. If there is a certain type of resource that can be stolen in one of these virtual worlds, a person is going to be more ready to steal it from someone when there is no law stating that they will be thrown in jail for doing so. People don’t steal things in real life because if they did that, they’d most likely get thrown in jail. Without the chance of consequences, these virtual worlds become kind of like the Wild West in that there are very little rules.
One “virtual world” that I find particularly interesting is called Turntable.fm. In this virtual world, you can become the famous DJ that you always wanted to be. When it is your turn, you may step onto the stage and play the music of your choosing to a crowd of other users. This is an amazing tool for creative people who want to perform for other but may not have the resources or connections to do it in real life. This is a great example of how today’s virtual worlds can foster creativity in people.
As for the future of virtual worlds, I believe that the scope will continue to increase to infinity. Right now, people have the ability to play video games in a virtual world through MMO games. They have the ability to act socially in platforms similar to 2nd Life. They have the ability to wage war on each other in platforms like Clash of Clans. I believe that in the future, any activity or location that you can think of will most likely be visualized. Soon people will attend full blown concerts from their living rooms. Soon people will be able to go on vacation simply by logging their family into the living room computer.
Citation:
Ferla, Ruth La. "No Budget, No Boundaries: It's the Real You." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Musgrove, Mike. "At Hearing, Real and Virtual Worlds Collide." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
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