Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds can be used in many different ways and can impact our society in more way thank imaginable. To begin with, virtual worlds can help those in the medical field practice their skills in scenarios that are realistic. Having the ability to do this can help them gain confidence in the area they specialize in. In the article titled "Avatar II: The Hospital" author Stephanie Simon states, "virtual training also typically costs less than a full-dress drill with hired actors. This would be one of the pros of virtual worlds because not only does it teach nurses/doctors how to react effectively to different scenarios, it is also cost efficient. However, with positives, there always comes negatives as well. One example would be how the creation of virtual worlds is limiting peoples social skills and causing them to spend more time on devices. Furthermore, another way it is negatively impacting people is because most users end up wanting to act the same way as their avatar and can get influenced by the negative characteristics. In the article titled, "Virtual world may impact real-world behaviour" the author states "consumers and practitioners should remember that powerful imitative effects can occur when people put on virtual masks." However, above all this virtual reality can still foster creativity in many ways. People are constantly adding touches to make avatars more like them and spend countless hours on getting it to seem more realistic. Technology is constantly evolving allowing people to be more creative. I think virtual reality will continue to become more popular and be utilized more in everyones lives.