New Communications final essay

In what ways are virtual worlds and the real world merging, and what potential advantages can virtual worlds provide?

Various fictional movies have focused on human beings’ fascination with cyber space and virtual worlds. In the twenty first century this fascination has evolved into what can be described as an attempt to breathe life into the fictitious “digital realm” of movies such as The Matrix, through the automated sphere (Chin, 2006/7:1303). The introduction of social networking and virtual worlds has seen an explosion in online socializing, that is, the simultaneous interaction which takes place in real time between users in simulated spaces (Gorini, Gaggioli, Vigna & Riva, 2008). These virtual worlds however, have become such an integrated part of people’s lives that aspects of the virtual world and the real world are merging. This merge is complex, and although associated with negative implications there is also a great scope for positive uses of virtual worlds by health professionals. This essay will explore the ways in which virtual worlds and the real world are merging, focusing on the virtual community of Second Life; and discuss potential advantages virtual worlds can provide for industries such as medicine, health and education.

The introduction of Web 2.0 in 2004 gave rise to a new era in virtual technology. Users could maximize the potential of the Web, allowing creativity and content sharing among multiple computers in different locations. Web 2.0 supports and sustains social networking, and promotes participation and cooperation among users. One of the most successful Web 2.0 applications is symbolized by three-dimensional virtual spaces or virtual worlds. Virtual worlds can be defined as “online immersive ‘game-like’ environments where participants engage in socialization, entertainment, education, and commerce”, and as a genre; “classified as massively multiplayer online (i.e., MMO) virtual environments” (Mennecke et. al, 2007:2). Such virtual worlds include Second Life and World of Warcraft, whereby users interact with eachother via avatars in a simulated environment online through the computer. These avatars simultaneously interact with eachother and occupy the same artificial space. Three dimensional Cyber Space’s can be considered as 3-D social networks, where besides encountering others and interacting with established phenomenon, people can work together to construct, develop and refine projects (Gorini et. al, 2008).

Virtual worlds are similar to the real world in many ways and evidence of the two merging is appreciable. Firstly, Cyber worlds are generally modeled on the real world and follow many of the same rules such as gravity, communication and real time actions. Analogous to real life, in virtual worlds such as Second Life people are able to develop relationships and social skills, and interact with eachother via avatars. Each users’ avatar is a custom designed, realistic 3D character. These avatars can participate in many activities such as; attending and partaking in lectures, conferences and other live events, holidaying and exploring new places, constructing societies and communities such as support groups and learning institutions, and visiting 3D virtual libraries to peruse document collections (Gorini et. al, 2008). As Chin (1996/7) suggests, every aspect of Second Life from the grass, mountains, rivers, seas, sun, wind, islands and countries to the paved streets and buildings is designed to produce the perception of living in the real world, as if users truly exist in this virtual reality. The effect is one of ‘feeling’ and total immersion, which “significantly provide(s) a means of embodiment for the user” (Taylor, 2002:40). Aided by the laws of physics and real life topography, Second Life introduces the closest perception of a parallel universe currently available (Chin, 1996/7).

Rather than differentiated from the real world, many virtual worlds are now seen as an expansion and continuation of reality, defying their once strict categorization as games. With over twelve million subscribers, Second Life is the largest online cyber community, with players investing great deals of time and energy on their ‘virtual self’ (State of Play 2 Conference, 2004). As Taylor (2002) asserts, a users’ avatar provides a means of establishing and creating a social identity and enabling engagement in the virtual world. Through avatars users are able to completely inhabit the cyber world, existing not just as “mind”, but instead using avatars to “construct their identities” (40). This embodiment in the virtual environment ceases to be of pure entertainment value and becomes an extension of real life, where cyber phenomenon becomes authentic.

One of the major ways that virtual worlds and the real world are merging is noticeable through business ventures. The once strictly ‘real world’ activities of business are becoming increasingly absorbed into the cyber sphere. Many virtual spaces are continuing to grow into sites of real world commerce (Balkin, 2004). In Second Life for example, a user can make a real-world living through pursuits conducted by their online avatar. An avatar can buy, sell or rent virtual real estate, build and lease stores, or provide “work for hire” labor including advertising, scripting and architecture (Mennecke et. al, 2007). Avatars can even create and produce their own clothing brand, concert or sports event. Another example comes from the online game Project Entropia, whereby one player bought a virtual space station for $100,000 in real money, hoping to earn dollars by charging other users rent and tax (Hof, 2006).

As Second Life has recently assigned their creators the intellectual property rights for everything they produce, virtual objects can be exchanged or sold within the virtual environment. The Second life currency avatars generate from their sales is called Linden Dollars- money which has a conversion rate and can be exchanged for real money in the real world. Although everything bought, sold or traded in Second Life’s virtual environment is synthetic, players are spending an average of $130 million real dollars a year on these ‘virtual’ material objects (Avasthi, 2006). This highlights the fact that virtual worlds are not only merging with the real world on an emotional and intellectual level, but also in a business and monetary sense. Players are paying good money to fancily cloth and house their avatars in the virtual environment, and spending increasingly more time masked as these avatars interacting in the virtual world.

Although the merging of the virtual and real worlds may seem alarming, this union has provided unexpected assistance and enhancement for people in the real world. As Avasthi (2006) suggests, perhaps the virtual world’s most considerable contribution to the real world is its use as a learning tool. Industries such as health, medicine and education are taking advantage of the opportunities this new and growing environment can provide. Mennecke et. al (2007) asserts that virtual worlds have “emerged as a rich complex platform for research” (2), expanding significantly from the video game image. Cyber worlds can now be thought of as laboratories for exploring various social science research issues. They are able to do this by offering a space where people’s behavior is almost identical to their behavior in the real world. From a research perspective, online virtual environments can be constructed, manipulated and controlled in ways unable to be pursued by other research avenues.

Virtual worlds are becoming extremely useful for health professionals. For example, a computer simulated environment may help with surgical education such as preoperative organization and practice, whereby information gathered could possibly be utilized and delivered with aid from robotics (Krummel, 1998). As Gorini et. al (2008) explain, virtual worlds such as Second Life “currently feature(s) a number of medical and health education projects” (2). Examples of educational projects associated with Second Life can be found in the form of Medical and Consumer Health Libraries such as “healthinfo island”, and VNEC, which is Second Life’s Virtual Neurological Education Centre developed at the university of Plymouth in the United Kingdom (Maged, Boulos, Hetherington & Wheeler, 2007). Other Health education uses include Second Life’s Virtual Hallucinations lab, whereby users can step inside the mind of a person suffering from schizophrenia. This aims to educated people about the nature of schizophrenic hallucinations (Gorini et. al, 2008).

Overall, the virtual world and the real world are merging in many ways. Through avatars people are able to construct and operate an identity, build relationships with others and engage in many real world activities. Not only are virtual worlds moulded on the real world, they are designed and created to ‘feel’ as close to a parallel universe as humanly possible. Cyber worlds are becoming simply an extension and continuation of the real world. With the introduction of business to virtual spaces and spending of real world money, virtual worlds and the real world are blending like never before. Although this concept may seem unnerving, there are also many positive uses for virtual worlds such as Second Life in the health, education and medical field. Such uses include virtual simulations for preoperative surgery and use as a laboratory for social science research.

References

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Balkin, J. M. (2004). Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and Freedom to Play in Virtual Worlds, Virginia Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 8, p. 2043, 2004
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Krummel, T. M., (1998). Surgical Simulation and Virtual Reality: The Coming Revolution, Annals of Surgery, Vol. 228, No. 5, 635-637, Lippincott Williams & Wilkns

Maged, N., Boulos, K., Hetherington, L. & Wheeler, S. (2007). Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education, Health Libraries Group

Mennecke, B. E., Roche, E. M., Bray, D. A., Konsynski, B., Lester, J., Rowe, M., & Townsend, A. M. (2007). Second Life and other Virtual Worlds: A Roadmap for Research, International Conference on Information Systems, Twenty Eighth International Conference on Information Systems, Montreal.