Week 10 Reflective Post - Virtual Reality

Virtual reality: danger ahead

As I have a great interest in the idea of Virtual Reality and Virtual Community, for my reflection, I found a piece - "Virtual reality: danger ahead" from USA Today in July 1995 by Kelly Kershner on virtual reality and the possible dangers that may come along with the advancement of the virtual.

In the article, Kershner argues that virtual reality 'allows users to interact with computer-simulated images and some day may offer immersion and escape into make-believe worlds'. I definitely agree with Kershner. I think that the virtual world has indeed provide users an avenue of escape from the real world. It often reflects a utopian world where users can relief any form of unhappy feelings within themselves. Although the virtual reality seems to be a positive avenue for users, Kershner also states that there are many negativity in it. For example, as virtual reality seems extremely real and many virtual exercises seem to be more involve in killing than in thinking, users because more violent due to the portrayal of violent through the virtual reality. Thus, I argue that users may reach a point where they are unable to differentiate the difference between virtual reality and real reality.

However, another point raised in the article was the idea of a virtual community. Kershner shows that although in real life, virtual reality may seem as an end of community, it is fact emerge a different kind of community, one that is not defined by geography. I believe that the virtual community has indeed brought people around the world closer to each other. However, it also brings about another problem of interaction. People tend to rely on this idea so much that they forget about their real reality. Thus, I think that as much as virtual community has brought people around the world closer to each other, it has in turn brought people further from each other in real life.

The idea of virtual reality definitely intrigues me.