Virtual World v/s Reality; and the war begins.
The advancement in technology has brought the world closer than ever. It is fascinating how, on a click of a button, one can perform a plethora of tasks. This digitization has helped in improving the resource material in the education sector, connected dear ones who are separated by distance, provided a real-time update on news and finance, and has revolutionized the entertainment industry at various levels.
Well, after looking at the positive impacts of this virtual world, and using it to a great extent, it becomes hard for us to see the dark side of this domain. Almost everything in the universe has more than one perspective, and the virtual world has no exception in this matter.
Virtual World v/s Reality: Misconceptions
Immersive Computing is a term which comprises of a bunch of concepts ranging from real reality to augmented reality to mixed reality and virtual reality. They all sound very similar, don’t they? But all of these are different terms, and in this blog, our prime focus will be virtual reality.
Virtual World v/s Reality is not something to be taken lightly, considering the intensity of the implications it has. Read on to find out who wins this battle.
Virtual World v/s Reality: Education
Education beyond blackboard and chalk learning has become the mantra of every school. With the aid of digital tools, visual representation, and animations, concepts can be taught in a better way.
Virtually the whole point of introducing this in the curriculum is to make learning more fun. Virtual labs for hacking can be beneficial for students who want to develop a career in ethical hacking. Interactive games and live sessions help impart wisdom in a fun and non-monotonous way.
But completely revolutionizing education isn’t the best idea. Working out problems on pen and paper, generating ideas while doodling randomly, and trial and error on paper can give rise to some mind-stirring concepts and clear doubts as well. Also, the system requirements change very frequently, and not all the schools are well off to invest a bounty in digital learning.
Virtual World v/s Reality: The impact of Social Media
Social media is an incredible way to stay connected to your loved ones and connect with new people who share similar interests as you. It is a compelling method to voice your opinions, showcase your work, interact with people, and advertise your products. It helps to build the right brand name and portfolio as well.
But once you start using it, you just can’t stop unless you decide to delete your account. If we keenly observe, people around us love to flaunt everything on social media, including the minuscule details in their life. It is very melancholic to think that people have stopped savoring reality and only do stuff to post it on their feed.
No matter how hard you try to get rid of the addiction, you always end up spending hours looking at your feed. If you are dwelling in this virtual world, the risk factor of causing harm to yourself is high and will be even more fatal if you don’t stop it immediately. Instead of creating social networks online, try to do something to create it in reality.
Since everyone tries to showcase the best parts of their life on social media, it has developed social comparison among the youth. Social comparison has always prevailed, but these apps are triggering it even more.
The constant desire for increased numbers of likes, followers, and subscribers often leads to disappointment and a significant amount of people who can’t cope up with this in a healthy way. Use a tracking system to reduce the number of hours you spend on these apps and websites and try to reduce it step by step.
Virtual World v/s Reality: Ignoring Real Life
If you are lost in a different world that exists online, you begin to lose track of reality. It reflects in poor academic performance, less social interaction in person, and an unhealthy lifestyle. A lot of people stop playing outdoor games and spending quality time with their friends, and instead choose to stay in bed and chat over the internet.
It is not the youth alone; even the middle-aged and older adults are hooked to their phones almost all day long. As amusing as it sounds, a significant number of people check their cell phones first thing in the morning without even getting out of bed.
This sounds very sad, but people don’t spend quality time with their families as they did before. The new way of spending time with family is sitting together with everyone glued to their electronic devices. Intellectual conversations, a peppy dinner, and late-night talks have become a rare occurrence.
Vacations are supposed to be savoured. The whole point of a vacation is to rejuvenate your mind, distress your body, discover new places, and embark on more fabulous adventures. Is it necessary to waste hours on a trip trying to get the perfect selfie for the social networking sites? We need to snap back to reality before the virtual world engulfs our minds.
Suggested reading: HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA IN A HEALTHY WAY?
Virtual World v/s Reality: Video Games
Video games are fun to play, and they have a host of benefits as well. For instance, they sharpen your concentration skills, increase hand-eye coordination, and improve your memory. Video games are one of the best activities to improve the functioning of the brain, but they are a world of their own.
Video games are becoming more popular and tend to have a real impact now because of the quirky new features. For instance, in certain games, the gamers can upload their picture as the face of the character.
Everything is good when taken in limited quantities. Playing video games excessively can be fatal and risky. If you spend hours playing on your computer, you are straining your eyes, which causes headaches, and you might even have eye defects in the future.
They are a significant distraction as a chunk of your time is lost while playing, and all your attention is engrossed in the virtual world. You become insensitive to the problems of reality since you are always finding ways to spend more time with your Xbox or play station.
Cyber sickness is a disorder where you cannot feel the contents moving on the screen; it is sort of the onscreen version of motion sickness. Staying long on hours on the computer screen can induce this, and in the long run, it would be hazardous to the physical body as well.
Virtual World v/s Reality: Sensitivity and awareness
The virtual world is a free space where everyone has a different opinion. This also opens doors for brutal criticism, trolls, and threats. Since you can remain anonymous while engaging in these pathetic activities, people aren’t concerned about the consequences, and they think they can get away with anything.
Constructive criticism is the right way of helping someone grow, but bringing them down with harsh words, hate, and negativity can cause permanent damage to their mental health.
If you take time off your mobile phones and try to understand the environment and society around you, you’ll become more sensitive to relevant issues, and you can contribute in a fruitful way to alleviate the community from the pain.
Participating in a charity is a personal choice, but practicing kindness and little gestures of humanity should be in every soul’s trait. These are the little things that build your character and will help your personality evolve.
Virtual World v/s Reality: Personal Touch
Remember the good old days when you’d wait anxiously for a letter? Perhaps even take a little stroll to the post office to inquire if it had arrived yet. You would soak in the aroma of the message, cherish each letter carved with all the loyalty, and store it in a special box to reminisce later.
Text messages took over letters in a cruel way. There was something personal about letters; it was more thoughtful and appealing. It held a lot of value to the person because it was handwritten. Although text messages are quick and easy to use, they lack warmth. Body language holds some significance while conveying a message which cannot be replaced by a virtual wish.
In current times, we seldom notice people coming together to celebrate a festival; instead, they just choose to forward a monotonous message to all their contacts. The spark of social connection, vibrant colours of clothes and decor, and delicacy of delicious foods are lost in this process.
Virtual World v/s Reality: The Dirty Truth
We are all striving to make the virtual world a better place for the sanity of the human mind. But eliminating all the negative factors is an impossible task. It is tough to filter out what is right for you because the human brain is curious to explore everything available out there.
The various editing apps which can transform you a full 180 degrees are an obstacle to the journey of self-acceptance. It is crazy how people want a perfect body just for the clout and not for a healthy lifestyle. Flawless skin is a pure virtual concept, and it has set some unachievable standards in the virtual world.
We are deflecting from our actual goals when we decide to pursue the standard of the virtual world as our real destination. Body shaming, racism, and inferiority complex are the outcomes of this.
The private experiences, especially the romantic ones, have a severe impact on this as well. Virtual pornography might seem like the most natural path to fulfill sexual desires, but this will have some pathetic real-world implications.
We are lost in these fantasies, not realizing that we are losing our virtue in the real world. These experiences lead to higher expectations in one’s sexual life, and when they are not fulfilled, they can cause a strain in the relationship. It might even lead to infidelity, aggressive behaviour, and overall deterioration of the affair.
It is not just about romantic relationships; your attitude towards other social relations will also change for the worst. If you are prone to watching a lot of violence, you will become aggressive and adamant in reality without even realizing it. This will speak volumes about your personality type.
Also read our article: Virtual vs. Real Life: The Big Differences.
Difference Between Virtual World and Augmented Reality
A virtual world is a computer-generated world which you can be a part of through your screens, but you can’t be physically present. Augmented reality (abbreviation: AR) is an up and coming concept which is more about modifying the things we see rather than replacing it with something imaginary.
AR has become an attractive field for engineers. Since it is a relatively new concept, we will see a lot of devices in the future, which are AR-enabled. Maybe even the existing methods will incorporate the feature!
Virtual world v/s reality: The future
Black Mirror is one of the red-hot TV series; it is available on Netflix. The show is based on technological innovations shortly. It is a very entertaining show which intercepts the newest creations with the darkest secrets of humanity.
Watch the trailer of the show by clicking on the link mentioned below:
Black Mirror | Welcome to the Darkness | Netflix
With the advancement in technology progressing by leaps and bounds every single day, we need to focus on extracting the best of the experiences from these innovations. It’s all about perception and quantity. Meanwhile, now and then, it is lovely to fall back into reality, away from the virtual world, and dwell at the moment and cherish what life has to offer.
Always remember, if you use something in limited quantity and have self-control, you are in the safe zone. What are your takeaways from this article? Do you think that we are dwelling in the virtual world more than required? Let us know your thoughts about Virtual World v/s Reality in the comment section below.
Last Updated on by Steffy Michael
