Question

Explain the different social interactions you have had or seen in Virtual Worlds. How have your social interactions shaped your experiences and understanding of these virtual worlds? Describe the perception you now have of that virtual world. What can be done with the design of these worlds to shape the social interactions?

Answer 1

Human existence is marked by having an interpersonal interaction with friends, peers, family members and society at large. This interpersonal communication gives a sense of satisfaction, love, happiness and a human touch along with the warmth of being in contact with significant others. The sharing of information through face to face direct contact is always appreciated as this not only involves a human touch but also helps the individual understand the micro-expressions of the person with whom he/she is communicating with. This sharing and loss of personal touch is experienced when one wants to communicate through virtual world. Although the sharing of one’s life experiences is also done through social media yet a number of aspects get a miss when the person is communicating through social media.

The kinds of interaction people have through virtual world is in the form of sharing of information with each other, being in contact with each other, getting to know about the life events of someone else. Moreover, at times these interactions are in the form of virtual interviews between employers and their prospective employees. There may be transfer of money to someone’s accounts.

The kind of interactions I have with my friends and family through social networking has helped me gain insight that there may be times in real life when I would be needing some of my friends, I may or may not find them near me. I have realized that people share their pictures to make other people aware of the happenings of their lives. They are at times, unnecessary competition to prove who is the best.

My views of the virtual world have somehow changed in a negative manner because I feel there is a lack of personal and humanized touch when one is too much involved in virtual world. There is at times a feeling of fake social support which may not be there in reality.

The strategies that may be used to improve this situation may be through encouraging the individuals to get involved in more personalized communication in real world setting.