Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are a platform for people to connect with others while being in the comfort of their own homes. As mentioned in "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot," virtual worlds help children engage with others under the supervision of their parents. These worlds are beneficial because they teach children how to interact with others. However, virtual worlds can also bring negative effects to one's social abilities. While it's often easy to socialize in a virtual world through words, this takes away from the experience of human interaction in real life. This may inhibit one's abilities to develop social skills. Virtual worlds can also be hazardous when the player fails to step away from the game, but rather carries that behavior into reality. As illustrated in "Virtual World may Impact Real-World Behavior," players who play the role of Superman tend to be the nice person or hero in real life. Whereas players who played the role of Voldemort in video games became the villain in the social experiment. This infers that the roles one plays online leaves an impact on his/her behavior and influences judgment. 

Virtual worlds such as Minecraft also foster one's creativity. Specifically, Minecraft allows players to create and build their world by exploring the platform for raw materials. In the future, I believe virtual worlds will be a platform where people from third-world countries will also be able to connect with people around the world. It'll allow for more social interactions where meeting in person would not be feasible. It'll also be a platform for children to learn to interact with others at a young age, and it may also assist in child development.