Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
According to the recent news highlights, it has been learned
that virtual worlds are increasingly being used by reputed business
organizations for conferences, people with disabilities (like autism) and by
buildings that seek remembrance even after their closure. Users from different
countries are given the ability to connect in one place and share their
thoughts.
Diverse benefits and limitations of the virtual worlds have
been recorded. Where people are allowed to relive the atmosphere of a hotel and
learn the history of a building, crimes in the building are also depicted. The
crime instances are speculated to assist criminals in strategy formation for
crimes in future. Old crime scenes and stories are repeated.
Individuals with disabilities can enjoy the atmosphere and
lifestyle, which they would not otherwise. The notion of ‘Avatars’ help people
enjoy the image they would otherwise want the world to see. Disabled people are
using these platforms to spread awareness on the prevention of diseases, cures
and methods through which an average individual can help people with
disabilities.
Many programs that offer virtual worlds have self-policing
software that tracks any kind of misbehavior and reports the user to the
management of the program/website. However, it is known that individuals in the
past have been using the chats on virtual world websites for plotting and
interfere with the working of the program. Hence, the management of the
websites needs to be smarter to track such users and report to the authorities.
When politicians step into the virtual world, users tend to formulate avatars
and cannot stop floating around them to gain attention.
The future of the virtual worlds is seen to be bright and an
excellent platform for people to promote their interests and fight against
social problems. However, the increased participation and negative thoughts of
individuals are required to be curbed through a strong and reliable software.
References:
Nicole Saidi. iReport: ‘Naughty Auties’ battle autism with
virtual interaction (2008)
Saki Knafo. In Room 100, Its Sid and Nancy All Over Again
(2009)
At Hearing, Real and Virtual Worlds Collide. Washington
Post. (2008)
