A virtual world to me is a very
scary thought. In this world one holds a simulacrum known to be “a copy of a
copy whose relation to the model has become so attenuated that it can no longer
properly be said to be a copy”. People become so caught up in this world they
live a virtual life, many known to spend more time interested or consumed in
the virtual world compared to the one in which we actually live in.
We live in an age where we can
totally recreate ourselves and live in a world through avatars, what are
avatars? Whatever we want them to be. We have the ability to create our own
being and reside in a virtual world being whoever we aspire. One of these
worlds that have grown massively since its creation in 2003 is Second Life, a
virtual world developed by Linden Lab.
It is a lot more than replicating our consumer society in games like
second life through the use of attractive avatars, it’s a whole new world. Looking at what is available on second life
you can see its alot more than Sailing, Surfing or site seeing. Mitch Wagners article
‘12 Things To
Do In Second Life That Aren't Embarrassing If Your Priest Or Rabbi Finds Out’ Talk of one’s ability to visit a Virtual
Amsterdam, which is told to be a “beautiful re-creation of real-life
Amsterdam” (Wagner, 2007), or take part in business ventures “Earlier
this month, I attended the O'Reilly ETech Emerging Technology Conference and
sat at a lunch table with some of the brightest minds in Web 2.0” (Wagner, 2007). Has this world gone too far?
When is enough enough? Which world are we really living in?
We have created a Hyper-reality. There is a boundary between
imagination and reality that is lost in these virtual worlds. Consumers love
having that ability to be whoever they create, not being judged by where they
live or what they look like. They love the idea that anything’s possible and
find it easier to achieve in a fake world, with fake money, fake houses, fake
people that they forget about the life they are wasting in the real world. What they love most? If all goes wrong, they
can simply turn it off and disconnect or start again. Creating multiple
identities and knowing it can all be switched off, there are no serious
consequences for your actions is a rewarding and interesting experience that
has captivated millions worldwide. The
production of these avatars relate closely to Howard Rhiengold’s views of a
virtual community as they are a social network of individuals who interact
through the use of social media. They
take themselves to an imagined place or state of
things in which everything is perfect and forget it’s not real. It’s a
dangerous and scary concept to think about.
What is also scary is how many people are
taking part in these virtual worlds and disconnecting from the real one. It is
growing at a rapid rate, Second Life for example was “Launched in 2003 with barley 1000 users, the
number of SL users with an account has grown to over 16 million” (Enssllin, A
& E Muse, 2011, Pg 99). I believe majority will in fact be
forced to take part in these virtual worlds whether for business or pleasure.
REFERENCES
Enssllin, A & E Muse, 2011, ‘Creating Second Lives’, EBL Online,
viewed 23rd January 2013, http://reader.eblib.com.au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/(S(lojfqpsjnhbcgqkojn4tzy2e))/Reader.aspx?p=692388&o=132&u=sqhA8fZJtjoZH3sMc7Qg%2bA%3d%3d&t=1358731236&h=92748C1E84596D812352D7E40209ECB2B2D8CDB2&s=7409437&ut=405&pg=1&r=img&c=-1&pat=n#
Massumi, B, 1987, ‘Realer Than Real: The Simulacrum According To Deleuze And Guattari’, Viewed 23rd January 2013, http://www.anu.edu.au/hrc/first_and_last/works/realer.htm
Meadows, S, 2008, ‘I, avatar: the culture and consequences of having a second life’, EBL Online, viewed 23rd January 2013, http://onlineres.swin.edu.au.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/1738063.pdf
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