Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Just like with anything, virtual worlds can be used for just about whatever the user wants to use it for within that virtual world's constraints. If they want to be mean to other people, they can unfortunately be mean. If they want to say nice things to others within the virtual world, they can say nice things. It really all depends on who the person is behind the screen and who they choose to be within it. One way in which virtual worlds can be used is to help people interact more with others. In the article 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction by Nicole Saidi, "[David] Savill [,the creator of Naughy Auties,] has Asperger's syndrome and said he wanted Naughty Auties to serve those with autism spectrum disorders and their friends and family." This virtual reality serves as a way for those with autism to be more interactive without having to be face to face. You can communicate with others "on your own computer, in your own room, your own space." People with autism can find it difficult to interact with people in social settings, but Savill's virtual reality gives autistic people a way to still communicate with others without the extra pressure of normal social interaction.

Another way that virtual worlds can be used is as an escape from reality when reality becomes stressful or simply when you can't bring yourself to go outside of the house. In a world where we may not be able to do things such as go on shopping sprees, travel the world, etc, we can turn to virtual realities to pretend like we are living the life that we always wanted to live. Eric Spangenberg, "a consumer psychologist and the dean of the business school at Washington State University [said] "It’s the newest manifestation of how people live vicariously: if I can’t afford a Bentley, my avatar can”" in the article, No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You By Ruth La Ferla. People can afford things in the virtual reality world that they might never be able to afford otherwise. 

Some of the pros of these virtual worlds is that they people spend some much money on their virtual selves that they no longer feel the need to spend as much on such expensive things in their real life. Another pro is that people get the chance to be one hundred percent themselves. Since they don't have to worry about bills to pay in virtual reality they can spend their virtual money on other things that might be too expensive for them in the real world. For business, virtual realities allow them to have their business continue on even after they might have been torn down. In the article Room 100, a Second Life for Sid and Nancy by Saki Knafo a longtime manager of the Hotel Chelsea, Stanley Bard, was removed from his position and changes were made to the hotel. When he saw the virtual hotel version of the Hotel Chelsea he felt extremely nostalgic. It kept the memory of how the hotel used to be alive. 

However, just like with other social networking platforms, the lack of face to face contact can cause issues for those on virtual reality. You can have a relationship in virtual reality but it's never going to beat having a face to face conversation with that person and being able to hold them. It's a different feeling entirely and it's a feeling that we need to have once in a while or it could eventually affect our mental health. The article, Going to the virtual office in Second Life by Mark Tutton, "Surinder Kahai, [an] associate professor at Binghamton University School of Management, New York...says that lack of human contact can also lead to feelings of isolation." 

These virtual worlds foster a lot of creativity in people because they are able to expand their limits. They don't have to worry about real life problems in the virtual world. It's a space that they can truly be whoever they want to be. Virtual worlds expand the ideas of what's possible for people. They can try new things and afford to be creative. In the future I think that virtual worlds will continue to grow and have more people who use them. I kind of imagine a time where people are so focused on their virtual life that they forget that they forget that they still have to live in the real world. They might even become depressed due to the fact that their virtual life is "better" than their real one...of course there are lots of positives to virtual worlds, but with every positive there's going to be a negative.