Using Virtual Worlds: Enslave or Empower?

The ultimate question for this century, I believe, is: "Will we control technology or will technology control us?" It's the theme of many modern philosophers and a great deal of novelists and filmmakers, especially in the science fiction genre.

Ultimately, technology does neither, at least, until it becomes sentient. Technology is just a proxy for our control over one another. My laptop allows me to do computing, which in turn lets me work, communicate, and provides a source of entertainment. I am not controlled by my laptop, rather, I'm controlled by the availability of my programs and computing - things that have to do less with metal and plastic, and more with programmers, marketers, business owners, and so on. By depending on my laptop, I depend on thousands of other people doing their jobs. However, even though I am not, in reality, dependent on my laptop, but it's a simple way to understand it.

That said, if my laptop were to break (heaven forbid!) I'd need to use another computer, install new software, etc. I have backups of my data and software, so I have a plan. In other words, I control my laptop and would deal with it if something happened. At the same time, I still depend on it. This coexistence of reliance and freedom exists in all technology in all forms, down to the most basic simple machines like a lever, or an inclined plane. The question I posed first has to do with the trade-off of this freedom for reliance.

So when examining technology, it is clear that there will always be a level of reliance, and we must judge whether something is worth the trouble. For example, I don't use an iPhone, because it's more trouble than it's worth for me, for a few different reasons. If I were to get an iPhone, I would spend too much time worrying about it, features, new software that I really don't need, paying an inferior service provider more than I'm paying now for it, etc. It would, in short, enslave me more than it empowered me.

Are virtual worlds worth the trouble?

The question of reliance versus value applies to virtual worlds, of course. Do virtual worlds sap more time and energy and attention versus the benefit that they provide? What uses are valuable and which are a waste?

Well, to me, role-playing in a virtual world is pretty much a waste. For other people who really, really enjoy that kind of escape, it might provide a creative mental outlet and a way to decompress. So, whether or not a virtual world is useful depends very much on the individual and the use. At the same time, are there broad-scope uses for virtual worlds that, for a great number of people, are much more empowering than enslaving?

There is definitely enslaving aspects to virtual worlds:
- They take time to learn how to maneuver and interact within them.
- They are generally higher system requirements, bandwidth, and often require a custom piece of software.
- They take more attention to focus on than, since there are more things going on at once.
- Owning land in virtual worlds is costly compared to websites or other software. (most chat software is free, teleconference software is often inexpensive.)

At the same time, virtual worlds can offer:
- 3-D simulation
- The visceral feeling of colocation with other people
- Immersive feeling of being part of something through one's avatar, rather than just being an observer (TV, Internet, teleconference, etc)
- Creative outlet (in places like Second Life)
- Entertainment

So when considering your use case of a virtual world, be it casual, business, education, or whatever, consider the cost. Why are you going into a virtual world? What does it add that other mediums may not? Focus on these things, and you'll get the most out of your time in virtual worlds. Simply go there to be there, and it will just be another technology that will weigh you down.