I've been doing some thinking this week about this online vs. offline life. Friends and I have had some debate about the value of a virtual life. The main points that have been raised in the conversations I had this week can be summed up as follows:
1. The virtual world allows for us to connect and share information remotely and this is a positive outcome, human relationships are incredibly important.
2. On the other hand this virtual world occasionally leads to people losing touch with their real lives, which is a negative outcome leading to poor mental and physical health.
I'm still not sure just where I stand on this issue and I expect that to some extent I have to let go of the way others use the web and find my own way to use it. My hope is that this conversation will continue throughout this class.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI was struck by a question when I read your blog posting.
What defines the "real world" in your mind?
I have personally gone through fits and starts with an online and a physical world persona but in looking at them, both in my mind are real. I come back to the concepts from the Matrix, whether the blue pill or the red pill is the reality that you want. Whether your world online is an extension of yourself and thus a real world or it is just a subworld and the real world is thus one built around nature. Just a couple ideas that I drew from reading your posts...
I would love to hear your thoughts.