Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

The virtual world is actually really interesting when you really come to understand it. People choose who and what they want to be and through these characters act out good or bad deeds. A lot of people tend to not realize how much a virtual character affects your actions in real life. Reading the article “Virtual World may Impact Real World Behaviour”, it gives us an example of how it affects our real life. It talked about people being heros’ and villains. In real life they gave them a test where they would taste chili or chocolate, then pass it further on. They would choose how much of each they would give to the taster after them. The people who acted as heros gave a lot more chocolate than chili and the people who acted as a villain in these virtual worlds, gave a lot more chili than chocolate. This can be a pro and a con for the virtual world. A pro in the sense that if people are choosing to be a hero, they tend to do better in real life as well. A con because these people who are choosing to be villains are also acting that way in real life. The virtual world gives people a chance to leave their normal stressful lives for a while and either save the day or terrorize it. A few other advantages of the virtual world is that it can help with training programs for the military, surgical procedures such as diagnosing and procedures and also gaming experiences. Its an advantage in these ways because the virtual world is so similar to real life. Some disadvantages of making a virtual world is that it is very time consuming, it could also not be as clear to see or hear. There are many disadvantages a virtual world can face. The virtual world is all about creativity and the idea that you can be anything you want. In the article No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s The Real You” by Ruth La Ferla it talks about how people during the Recession could not actually go out and buy these expensive things, but took to the virtual world to do it instead. People would spend money on these games in order to have what they wanted in the real world. It is almost like a way to express who you really want to be, even if it isn’t possible in real life. You can create your world however you want to with very little boundaries. I think the future is going to have a lot more involvement with virtual worlds. I believe it is going to eventually be a way to help train employees, especially in the retail industry. In my eyes the virtual world can be a very positive thing for the future.