Are 2 lives better than 1?

Avatars were first used in order to create a lifelike representation of ourselves within digital media. Granted these avatars were never really accurate but at least most of us made an attempt to do so because it was never really seen as an important aspect of digital media. However as we begin to use avatars more and more within our different mediums of communication we have also created images of ourselves further away from what what we actually look like. Nowadays avatars are made to represent how we want to look rather than how we are in order to not only gain satisfaction from our peers but to also be more readily accepted by the broader community. This issue is interesting and is also brought up with the following video. I had just watched this movie recently and thought it gave an interesting perspective on avatars and virtual selves.



I used this movie as an example because a lot of hype has been given to the new reality based game called 'Second Life' which allows individuals to create their own avatar and use them within a virtual world aimed at being representative of the real world. Participants are able to communicate with other individuals, develop relationships, buy houses, fly and do an umpteen number of other things. But the thing I found most disturbing about the whole thing was just how attached to this game people had gotten. Stories about parents neglecting their children due to the addictive nature of this game was a scary concept to grasp. Other stories surrounding the game included virtual marriages and virtual cybersex as well as couples breaking up in real life because their partners had cheated on them within a video game. The fact that anyone could become this immersed in a game is becoming a very realistic concept and begins to provide merit to the meaning put forth within the movie 'Surrogates'. One must ask how long will it be before every aspect of our lives is controlled by a virtual avatar of our own?

People will argue and say that they would never become that addicted to a game and would argue how stupid it is, however ask them if they had ever played World Of Warcraft (WOW) and they will tell you its the best thing since sliced bread. WOW was rated as one of the best online multiplayer games and has shown a huge amount of players all around the world. Although this game may not reflect the reality portrayed in Second Life there are certainly a vast number of individuals who are just as addicted to this game as Second Life. So called 'clans' are made between players in order to reach certain goals and it is almost scary seeing how immersed individuals can get while playing this game. On a number of occasions i have watched friends of mine interact with the game and it is almost impossible to gain their attention once they have begun playing.

So the real question is how far is too far with regards to virtual realities? Are we slowly becoming the sort of society who conducts every aspect of our lives through a computer? I believe that we are becoming a more virtual reality based society however I would like to think that it is only conducted as a recreational part of our lives and not a complete replacement of our perception on reality. However that said this may only be due to a restriction in technology and as the advancement of technology takes us further into the future it is unclear just how dependent we may become on our virtual selves.