Friday, July 30, 2010
The Real vs Virtual World
It has always been an object of amusement for me to observe the rather striking similarities (and differences) between the real world and the virtual world (virtual here means, the 'online/connected/chatting/scrapping' world)
The virtual world is, at times, as baffling as the real one.. Sometimes all your friends are online and no one cares to ping u, even the ones whom u chat with everyday... and at other times, there is such frantic pinging, that u say 'man, gimme a break!'
In the real world too, sometimes, people who do care for u may not want to talk to u for some really weird reasons, but at other times, all of them seem to be wanting to reach u like mad...
However, there is also a striking difference between these two worlds. In the real world, you mostly know what the other side is thinking through during the intermediate silence.. But in the virtual world, you don't.
For example, an online chat doesn't tell you whether your friend actually laughed at your joke or was by now much fed up with your antics. Chat doesn't tell you if your girlfriend shied away when you complimented her or was busy chatting with someone else when she replied to you with a smiley!
In summary, it is safe to assume that although the virtual world tries to model the real world to a great extent, it is indeed much more imperfect than the real world. It doesn't efficiently model the basics of 'unsaid' words.
And that is the reason why, the communication of any strong feeling in the virtual world should best not be interpreted at all or atleast taken with a pinch of salt. Virtual is not perfect yet. Real is better.
-Dhaval
The virtual world is, at times, as baffling as the real one.. Sometimes all your friends are online and no one cares to ping u, even the ones whom u chat with everyday... and at other times, there is such frantic pinging, that u say 'man, gimme a break!'
In the real world too, sometimes, people who do care for u may not want to talk to u for some really weird reasons, but at other times, all of them seem to be wanting to reach u like mad...
However, there is also a striking difference between these two worlds. In the real world, you mostly know what the other side is thinking through during the intermediate silence.. But in the virtual world, you don't.
For example, an online chat doesn't tell you whether your friend actually laughed at your joke or was by now much fed up with your antics. Chat doesn't tell you if your girlfriend shied away when you complimented her or was busy chatting with someone else when she replied to you with a smiley!
In summary, it is safe to assume that although the virtual world tries to model the real world to a great extent, it is indeed much more imperfect than the real world. It doesn't efficiently model the basics of 'unsaid' words.
And that is the reason why, the communication of any strong feeling in the virtual world should best not be interpreted at all or atleast taken with a pinch of salt. Virtual is not perfect yet. Real is better.
-Dhaval
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]