Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds offer opportunity for users to escape their day to day life and do things that the program allows. This allows many people with access to a computer the chance to visit foreign, near, or imaginary places, as well as the chance to communicate and make friends with people all over the world. In The New York Times article I’ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life, we read about a person who choose to escape the smells and crowded atmospheres of a actual club by just going online. The benefits of doing this was "There were no imperious bouncers or foul odors to contend with, and no fluids of any kind expectorated on my shoes". Prior to reading the articles I was unaware of the various ways a virtual world could be used. This includes offering the opportunity for a paralyzed or disabled person the chance to walk, fly, and even find a calling that they couldn't have done on their own. In the CNN Online article, iReport: 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction, where introduced to David Savill who is autistic.Since David is not very sociable second life helped him while he learned when to use a smiley face or a angry face. David was also able to open a online institution named Naughty Auties where "visitors can practice social interaction and find information about the condition".

Virtual worlds allow users the chance to escape their actual life and be whoever to they want to be, however, time spent in the worlds could allow one to forget about their responsibilities in the real world. For intense, my main responsibility are work and school, so a second life could take away time I could have applied to my homework or to just being productive. I believe that second life is best used in one free time and that users should be able to distinguish from when it time to play and when it time to get back to reality. I believe that in the future these virtual worlds will have the capacity to give users a greater experience with greater and richer graphics, as well as with the integration of motion technology the chance to make it more life like.