#jonathan steur

It is so easy to confuse actual reality with another form.  It is so easy to get confused which ‘world’ we’re actually living in, which one real life.

Don’t believe me? Here’s an example.

Open this link, plug in your headphones and listen: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA 

Did it trick you? Did you scrunch your neck to the side when the clippers came on? Did your heart start beating nervously when it sounded like they were cutting the back of your hair? I sure did!

That’s how easy it is to get real reality confused with other realities, and I believe that as the Internet and technology in general evolve, we are getting more and more tricked by alternate realities.

As I sit here thinking about realities, in particular virtual realities, I can’t help but pay attention to the idea of Facebook being a of virtual reality. I know it doesn’t fit typical definitions of virtual realty such as “virtual reality is an alternate world filled with computer- generated images that respond to human movements. These stimulated environments are usually visited with the aid of an expensive data suit which features stereophonic video goggles and fiber- optic gloves” (Greenbaum, 1992, p. 58), but this doesn’t necessarily mean my idea is incorrect. Rather, I take a similar stance with Jonathan Steur (1992), who defines virtual reality as “ a real or stimulated environment in which a perceiver experiences telepresence” (pp. 76- 77). The key reason I believe this is the term ‘telepresence,’ which is “the extent to which one feels present in the mediated environment, rather than in the immediate physical environment” (Steur, 1992, p. 76). This is also what makes me believe that Facebook is an example of virtual reality, as Facebook, a mediated environment, allows us to have this sense of ‘presence’. It allows us to have this virtual environment where we have friends, groups, likes, events, notes, family and even allows us to ‘check in’ where we are. All these tools enable us to create a virtual world where we control the content.

It also allows us to be whoever we want to be, and say whatever we want to say, and this is where such virtual realities are becoming a problem. More and more, controversies over comments said on social networking sites such as Facebook. A recent example is when Prime Minister Julia Gillard was attacked with derogatory terms in an open forum on Facebook (you can read about the event in Sally Whyte’s article). I can’t help but think whether these people would say such remarks in person as well, or is it just through their virtual reality on Facebook that they have such willingness? The answer could lead back to Steur’s description of virtual reality as being an environment where a person experiences the preference of a mediated environment rather than the immediate physical environment.

Maybe this is the key problem with virtual realities- the fact that many people can’t seem separate a virtual reality from the real. Its definitely something all us Facebook user can think about.

Bibliography

Greenbaum, P., 1992. The Lawnmower Man. Film and Video, 9(3), pp.58- 62.

Steuer, J., 1992. Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence. Journal of Communication, 42(4), pp.73- 93.