Although the concept of virtual reality can be traced all the way back to 1860, it's one that really took off in the beginning of the 21st century. In 2003, Linden Lab launched a virtual reality software called Second Life, where users could interact through avatars with other users and the virtual world around them. Second Life was on the way to becoming a revolution in the way we communicate. Like many other virtual reality programs, it served a wide range of interests--arts, science, work solutions, religion, entertainment, relationships, and role-playing. Going to the virtual office in Second Life discusses Second Life's 2009 initiative to bring together remote workers in a virtual office setting. IBM's software Sametime 3D and Google's Wave also enable virtual collaboration. The issue with this type of technology is that what works in a traditional workplace setting isn't always best in a virtual reality.
There are many faces to virtual reality technology. Diana Mehta and Jacki Morie, from Forbes and USC ICT respectively discuss the pros and cons of virtual reality. One interesting aspect of this is isolation. Virtual reality tries to turn the problem of "being alone together" into truly being together on "the grid." With the recent boom in the popularity of Minecraft, a virtual Leggo world where users can interact with one another and work together to build things, 2 billion accounts have been registered (1 billion of which belong to children ages 5-15). According to Morie, children benefit from this space where they can connect socially, learn, and be entertained because the physical radius to which children are confined is continuously shrinking. This software is also an important part of more serious endeavors, namely military training. Virtual reality creates an environment in which soldiers feel unease and fear, making training more realistic. Also, the use of avatars is something fundamentally revolutionary in the world of social interaction. Creating an alternate image of yourself fosters some sense of responsibility for the actions of that character. Most importantly, virtual worlds foster creativity. Because they so heavily rely on user input, its practically impossible to possibly intake information in a virtual world. Furthermore, virtual reality surpasses the physical limits of real life. In Minecraft for example, anyone can build anything from a castle to an entire town--something most people would never be able to do in reality.
However, this kind of technology does not come without consequences. One big issue is regulation. With so many users interacting in a free-for-all environment its difficult to regulate illegal and immoral activities, such as gambling. Rapid growth rates also lead to technical instability, server crashes and even inventory loss. This means that virtual items that users actually pay for can disappear without warning. Even more disturbing is the number of moral issues that arise with virtual reality technology. When lack of regulation and accountability is combined with anonymity, users begin to engage in highly immoral activities including bullying, threatening other users, stealing inventory, and in extreme cases virtual pornography.
Virtual reality is a technology that is constantly developing and growing. Our fascination with an alternate world will likely never end. However, it is my opinion that in the future, this kind of technology will be better suited to games (i.e. Oculus Rift) and to training programs, not to create grids where users could do whatever they want. There really has to be stricter regulation and very elaborate software development for such a system to work. Even so, I think a virtual world that is too immersive can be detrimental to social interaction in the physical world.
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