In class recently, we began discussing virtual worlds. In fact, we spent an entire 50 minutes class time discussing pros and cons of virtual worlds like Second Life and There. Quickly, questions began to arise about how far these virtual worlds went to make the atmosphere as close to the "real world" as possible. My classmates began asking if an avatar could die in virtual worlds, if an avatar could be arrested or married etc. Well, when reading news stories on CNN.com, I found my answer.
A Japanese woman killed her virtual world husband's avatar, and authorities are charging her for it. The woman was a member of the "Maple Story" virtual world, and one day she logged in and discovered that her avatar had been divorced. She found a way to hack into the man's account and destroy his avatar. She's facing jail time and fees. Sounds a bit crazy, doesn't it? For people like this, it seems that their virtual world has become the dominant world. So what now?
If I have learned anything so far in COM301, it's that CMC (computer-mediated-communication) does not really have limits. It is going to keep on expanding and creating more "reality-like" types of communication. Virtual worlds like Second Life and Maple Story are only going to continue growing. When browsing Second Life, I noticed that it is trying to take precautionary measures to deter incidents, like the one latter stated, from happening. For example, a member's avatar cannot contain his or her real name. Also, the avatar does not have to be created in likeness of the actual person. If a member chooses to later disclose this information to a fellow user it is his or her decision. This is a positive security measure taken by virtual worlds, but in the end, it is the users who decide whether or not virtual worlds become dangerous worlds. In class we have learned about cyberbullying and becoming prey on the internet, and there is nothing stopping those kinds of people from finding a way into virtual worlds.
1 comment:
I think that this Japanese woman should be convicted of fraud and things of that nature, but to say that she "killed" her husbands advatar is going a little far. I think people in second life forget that it isn't real. But, it is scary to think about the whole concept of second life...it really is a second life.
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