Virtual Worlds Essay

Submitted By winner870
Words: 1118
Pages: 5
Open Document
The Anthropology of Virtual Worlds
4 October 2012
Virtual Worlds People have been trying to define the meaning of virtual worlds for years. The definition of a virtual world, as defined by the “Journal of Virtual Worlds”, is a “computer-based simulated environment where users interact with other users through graphic or textual representations of themselves utilizing textual chat, voice, video or other forms of communication.” I agree with this definition of virtual worlds because it sums up the basis of what we discussed in class as to what we believed a virtual world was. A virtual world is an environment where one can portray oneself as one pleases and communicate with others seamlessly freely. Some examples include but are not limited to Second Life, Video Games, and YouTube.
Second Life is a virtual world that allows people to interact with one another through avatars in an online community. Depending on how deep an attachment one has with a virtual world such as Second Life, one could become emerged into this “thing” and have it effect ones real life situations. This could consist of one’s health. Virtual behavior may affect one’s health both positively and negatively. Jesse Fox, a graduate student of Stanford, assigned a total of seventy-five avatars to seventy-five volunteers dividing them into three groups. In one group he made the volunteers watch ones virtual counterpart run on a treadmill for about five and a half minutes. In another group the volunteers saw oneself lounge around, and the last group watched avatars of the same sex and age run on treadmills only the avatars did not look like them. Fox found that the volunteers he had view the avatars that looked like them running on a treadmill had worked out an hour more in the following twenty-four hour period, than the other two groups. Of course the second was the group watching the avatars of the same age and sex but different avatars from oneself running on a treadmill. This is interesting because it shows how virtual worlds can affect what one does in real life. If something as simple as watching an avatar run on a computer screen can make one exercise more or less, then who is to say violence in virtual worlds cannot carry on into the real world?
Some video games can be very violent. Games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and The Call of Duty series are examples. Grand Theft Auto is a virtual world video game where one steals cars, kills pedestrians as well as police, fight gangs, and numerous of other violent acts. It is a virtual world because you can interact with others during online play. It is only a video game but it has led to real world crimes. In Bangkok, a teen student murdered a taxi driver just “to see if it was as easy as in the game.” The teen was believed to, and admitted to being an avid player of the video game. He stabbed a fifty-four year old driver ten times resulting in the death of the driver. Because of this, the video game was pulled from sale in Bangkok. Video games such as Call of Duty are also violent but in a different way. This video game series uses the military to combat warfare using a first person shooter feature. If the video game Grand Theft Auto can lead people to commit crimes in the real world, then would it not be also logical for one to join the armed forces because of the video game Call of Duty? Although instances of people joining the armed forces because of a virtual world are few, it still happens.
Some virtual worlds are so common that some people do not even know that they are participating in it. An example of which is YouTube. Upon questioning students about the use of YouTube as a virtual world, many did not understand ones participation in it. YouTube is a virtual world because you interact with others online through videos. Rather it be replying to the video in a written text comment, or a reply using a video comment, one is still interacting with another person
Show More

Related Documents: Virtual Worlds Essay

Cyber Citizen: Who Is The Self In The Virtual World

Cyber psychology and the shifting persona of the cyber citizen: Who is the self in the virtual world? The Internet has grown faster and has become more invasive and integrated into our lives than most people could have ever imagined. Since the year 2000, Internet usage has increased by 566%. [1] Current statistics estimate that 63.2% of Western Europeans are digitally active on a regular basis. When broken down generationally, 93% of teenagers are active. [2] From this and the constant progression…

Words 2148 - Pages 9

Presentation: Massively Multiplayer Online Game and History Virtual Worlds Essay

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY Virtual worlds are online three-dimensional spaces where you can interact with other people, collect items and build structures, and communicate via a virtual representative of yourself called an avatar. These worlds have been influenced by various science fiction writers such as William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, along with the movie, "The Matrix." Virtual worlds differ from massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) because they don't offer battles against monsters or have…

Words 449 - Pages 2

Essay about Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality Technology is forever changing. We have gone from having massive machines that occupied entire rooms to having devices that fit in the palm of our hands. Now, imagine tasting, smelling, touching, hearing and seeing other people, places, and things from anywhere in the world or imaging being a part of a simulated world that someone created. This can all be achieved through a technology referred to as virtual reality. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, virtual reality…

Words 1577 - Pages 7

Virtual Reality Essay

Reality of Virtual Reality Christopher Shively Computer Literacy 103 Instructor Howard November 19, 2012 While many people believe virtual reality to be an entertainment feature, virtual reality is a feature that will one day shape many of our common industries in the world. From arts, communication, and architecture, to engineering, education, and the medical field, the advancements virtual reality is taking in these professions is vital to their progression in the future. Virtual reality can…

Words 1910 - Pages 8

Virtual Reality Simulations

Virtual Reality: Future and Concerns Came out in 1999 the movie, Matrix, portrays a fantasy world that people lives in a virtual simulated world without acknowledging it. Nearly twenty years from then, such fantasy is almost about to come true with the help of Virtual Reality (VR). Virtual Reality is the technology that allows people to experience virtual world by wearing goggle-like headset. It simulates the environment in the monitor and allows the user to interact. Besides recent development…

Words 1438 - Pages 6

Essay on Reality. What is it?

games, cell phones, IPods, the Internet, artificial intelligences and virtual ‘realities’ to name a few are developing at an exponential rate. In Nicholas Carr’s 2008 article “Is Google making us stupid” he analyzes both past and present how we as humans tend to adapt and acquire the qualities of the technologies we frequently use. With this recent phenomenon in the digital world, and the push to further develop and perfect virtual ‘realities’ the potential outcomes for this type of technology are essentially…

Words 1946 - Pages 8

Use Of Rhetorical Devices In Jane Mcgonigal's Reality

In today’s digital age, the allure of virtual worlds has captivated millions worldwide; offering an escape from the constraints of reality and promising unprecedented experiences. McGonigal sheds light on why individuals are increasingly drawn to these virtual realms through the use of rhetorical strategies. Author Jane McGonigal claims that gamers have had enough of reality and are turning to the virtual world in the excerpt Reality is Broken by utilizing logos and repetition. Through her use of…

Words 584 - Pages 3

Argumentive Essay

Norton Mrs. Moody English 102-44 26 April 2012 Virtual Reality Most girls have had at least one boyfriend that would rather play his video games than answer her phone calls. Lucky for those boys, researchers are finding several advantages to the virtual world. The idea is becoming more attractive to more universities and to the workplace. Although this is becoming more accepted and widespread, there are also cons to living in a virtual world. Games like these affect the mind in more ways than…

Words 1034 - Pages 5

The Effects Of Virtual Reality

As questionable as it may seem, virtual reality actually has numerous positive neurological effects, which is why it is viable to use in schools and companies. The world of virtual reality is growing, and technologists are discovering more ways to make users’ experiences more immersive. Current virtual reality technology uses the senses of sight, hearing, and touch to an extent, and possibly in the future, scent and taste will be implemented. The Japanese company, Vaqso, is working on a device which…

Words 1753 - Pages 8

Color Analysis Essay

interesting way to tell a story. I have seen “The Matrix” a few times and never realized until today that there was a huge difference between the two worlds. The color hue was mainly green, which is one of the primary colors, and is heavily used throughout the movie. The color contrast is used to differentiate the virtual world from the real world in almost a subliminal way that fits perfectly with the theme of the movie. I think the brothers chose green because we can relate to the older dot matrix…

Words 639 - Pages 3