Virtual
worlds has been an interesting concept for a very long time. Even in the realm
of science fiction, it has been a common trope where characters put on a
headset and are suddenly in a completely different location and can interact
with many people. Since the 2000’s technology has been very focused on the
social aspect of our lives and virtual worlds have become reality. An
interesting example of a virtual world has to be Second Life. Starting out as a
game where people can live vicariously through their avatars, many companies
have adopted the game and incorporated it into their corporate culture. Companies
like IBM, the US military use Second Life to hold conferences and test new
technologies with workers who are from many different places. While there are
many different telecommunication options that also do the same thing, Second
Life’s design is one where users can still have casual human contact and are
not completely isolated. A major drawback is one faced by many multinational
corporations. Users who are not face-to-face can accidentally incorporate their
own organizational and national cultures that may not be understood or accepted
by the people they are communicating with.
A major
problem that arises with virtual worlds are people’s identification with their
avatars and the carry over effect into the real world. Researchers at the University
of Illinois conducted a study where people were given good, bad and neutral
people to play. Later, they were told to give spicy chilli or sweet chocolate
to unsuspecting people. The people playing evil characters by far gave more
spicy chili while the good conversely gave way more chocolate. This study
highlights that what we do in virtual worlds can impact our thinking in
reality. This is potentially a serious issue because virtual worlds tend to
have no restrictions and barriers, a world with limited rules. If people ignore
the rules in real life because of virtual conditioning, it can cause serious
problems.
Works Cited:
Tutton, Mark. “Going to the virtual office in Second Life.”
CNN http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
9 Nov 2009
EurekAlert. “Virtual world may impact real-world behavior.”
Health 24 https://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/News/Virtual-world-may-impact-real-world-behaviour-20140210
10 Feb 2014
Hi Omar,
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made with virtual worlds and the science fiction trope about a character entering a new world by putting on a headset. It made me wonder if that kind of immersion would be possible in our world and I have hope that we will be able to get there soon.
This was definitely an interesting read regarding the psychological effects on people after experiencing augmented/virtual reality. I can see how one would shift from their normal personality given that the virtual world would not restrict people's actions, but virtual reality may be able to help in positive ways in psychology, medical, and other fields if used in different ways.
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