There.com - Goodbye!

Since my time on there has come to a close I felt I should write a short evaluations on my feelings of the virtual realm now I myself had experienced it...

Evaluation

After completing three weeks living in the virtual world I can safely say I am not planning on leaving the real world anytime soon. I crave the physical satisfaction of the real world, being able to touch things and use them, hugging someone and feeling them and seeing facial expressions and hearing the tone of someone’s voice. During the visits to the world I found myself feeling extremely vulnerable and uncomfortable. I did not like the thought that the people I was talking to may not actually be who they said they were and can see how this can lead to more serious issues out of our control in a virtual sense. I did however find myself enjoying the conversational side as my journey through the world progressed and could see how people can turn to the virtual realm for the sense of friendship if they find social situations in the real world daunting. Although I found that there seemed to be groups within the world that seemed to know each other well and were not always inviting towards others so meeting people and getting involved with ongoing conversations often proved tough so I often spent time alone exploring the world.

However a female avatar warned me the first time I went into the world to watch out for guys as they often ask for personal details. This an also be a major problem in the virtual world as when in a conversation you can often forget and give them out un-noticed especially when people talk to you in a tone suggesting they know you quite well which is often the case.

I found that the time of day had an effect on how many people were online and that during the day far less seemed to be around. Therefore meeting new people and asking about there experiences in the online world proved tough. Although daytime visits were useful in exploring the worlds whilst evening visits could be used more effectively for socialising.

Appearance plays a part in the virtual world to which I found interesting. I think the main reason for this is the start out clothes, if you choose to remain in them people assume straight away that you are new to the world and therefore chose to stay clear of you. However this is often the case as to change appearance and clothes permanently you have to pay. This is a key feature of the virtual world, having to pay to progress. Most activities and objects require a price, which can detour people form using the sites or progressing within them.

I found the weather recreations realistic due to the use of audio representing them making them more recognisable. However I often found that the graphics were not always that realistic which was a let down but of course is something that can easily be worked on. As can the level of interactivity which I felt other than on a social basis was very limited within the world.

So overall I felt the world was effective and realistic in the sense of social relationships it gave you with others. But I have definitely decided that my visits to the virtual realm are likely to return to slim to none.