Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

The concept of virtual worlds is not new to us, but the applications of these virtual worlds has grown dramatically over the years. Applications have been extended to recovery for military vets suffering from trauma to training for military personnel in certain controlled situations to even aiding doctors and surgeons in the medical profession so they can practice real-time operations with no consequences. All of these new uses have grown with the growth of AI as well as Virtual Reality where children and adults alike are free to roam around worlds outside of their own and engage in situations they might not have otherwise done if given the opportunity. Although this may sound revolutionary, there are already many debates regarding the pros and cons of such applications and the effect virtual worlds have on society. 
One pro to virtual worlds is the tremendous benefit it poses for practitioners and professions to excel their craft and perfect surgeries or train astronauts in landing missions and countless others. Another pro would be the connectivity it offers to those in society who feel isolated and alone. Participating in these virtual worlds helps to form communities and allows others to engage within the platform. A con also related to this feature would be the lack of developing social skills, especially for those exposed to virtual worlds at a young age. Another con would be the perfection that is required and the extensive difficulty that is experienced when attempting to re-create real-world experiences. 
I believe virtual worlds foster creativity on a preeminent level. Users, by engaging in activities or events out side of their comfort zone, are able to expand their worldview and look at tasks in a different light. Creativity is also fostered because younger generations are allowed to explore on their own, as stated by Dianne Mehta in her article 'After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?' where she stated "In the 1950s, you played with everyone on your street. Now the only chance kids have for free exploration without a parent hanging around is in these virtual worlds." and these early discoveries lead into increased curiosity which gives birth to creativity. I believe the future of virtual worlds is strong because of the expansion of applications and areas that can be altered for the better using this technology. As Joe Earl puts it in his article 'The virtual world moves into the classroom', "Maxwell likes to refer to virtual technology as “XR” instead of “VR,” in order to include the variety of types of alternative realities made possible through computers.". I definitely see this technology expanding into professions such as healthcare particularly for the use of practicing surgeries and for hands-on training like no other. 

- Dianne Mahta 'After second life can virtual worlds get a reboot?'

 - Joe Earl 'The virtual world moves into the classroom' 

Comments

  1. Prodigy_1October 28, 2019 at 11:58 AM

    I agree with the advantages that virtual reality provides to users. Especially in the surgical field where it is very important for surgeons to prefect their skills because human lives are at risk. Virtual reality can help children to develop their creative skills at a young age which will help them think outside the box when they are older. Although I believe virtual reality has capabilities to grow into a huge industry, the consumers are just not responding very well to VR. Google has discontinued their DayDream VR Headset due to poor sales. I was very excited to try my VR headset but I only used it a few times and lost all interest. It should be developed to be utilized in everyday activities to help increase sales.

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