Posts Tagged: virtual environments

In my first question this week, I asked how we can use virtual environments to teach, especially kids, valuable life lessons.  I think that the best way that we can use virtual environments for children is to teach them positive and healthy Internet and technology use.  Over the past few weeks, we have talked a lot about Internet addiction.  In the video we watched in class on Wednesday of the boy in England who was addicted to video games, the class consensus was, “Why isn’t the mother doing anything about this?”  I believe that using technology responsibly is an essential part of education today.  So, if that means your five year old daughter is allowed to play on Webkinz for 30 minutes a day, that could be a positive use of the virtual environment.  If children are taught from an early age to use virtual environments effectively and responsibly, perhaps the rate of technology addictions would decrease.

In my second question, I asked why companies sometimes put a lot of emphasis on metaverses instead of products in the real world.  I think that a company’s presence in a metaverse is first and foremost important advertising.  But, I also believe that the hype of real-world companies having a presence in virtual environment has not become as crucial as it was once thought.  For example, when Second Life came out, many thought that this was the future of advertising, commerce, the world, etc.  So, Coca-Cola, American Apparel, and many other businesses literally took up shop in Second Life.  However, many of them no longer inhabit Second Life, because the virtual environment did not rise to the popularity that was expected.

The third article talked about user security on Second Life.  It is very scary what can happen to people in virtual environments when they do not know what they are doing– and even sometimes when they are experienced users.  The story that I found most scary was about the avatars that lurk around places that people who only log on for business purposes, and lure them into other parts of the game.  Earlier, I spoke about technology education for children, but it is not enough to only teach children.  Everyone needs to know the tools and dangers of popular technological features so that they can remain safe.  Some people are scared of these technologies– this is not necessary if they are told how to use them.