Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

     Virtual reality has been a technology that has driven the imaginations of people since the popularization of video games. But it seems, like most technologies, there can be more beneficial effects to this technology. In a CNN iReport 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction. The author Nicole Saidi, writes about how the virtual world game Second life, gave people who suffer are on the autism spectrum and suffer from Asperger's syndrome the ability to communicate through the game and interact in ways that they are unable to in real life, "People who suffer from Asperger's are often highly-achieving but can have difficulty in social situations." By playing the game people who suffer from Asperger's can get a sort of treatment in which they can develop and exercise the social skills that they might have not developed otherwise. Because the game is played from the comfort of a persons home, the pressures that a person might associate with social situations. Second life is a promising start to a treatment that can hopefully help millions people who suffer from Aspergers and other forms of mental illness.

     In the Forbes article "After Second life, can virtual worlds get a reboot?", by Diane Mehta, the author writes about how new games like Minecraft, have encouraged creativity amongst children and adults alike. She writes that although Minecraft isn't the end all be all for virtual reality, she acknowledges that it is a step in the right direction for the technology medium. Mehta recognizes that virtual reality shouldn't make users feel like they are experiencing the world alone, but rather together in a connected and interactive environment. An important thing to point out is that this article is from 2013 and a lot has changed in the 3 years. This year companies like HTC, Sony, Oculus, and Samsung have released their own versions of virtual reality devices and the market is ever expanding and it is just starting.

Sources
Mehta, Diane After second life, can virtual worlds get a reboot? Forbes

Saidi, Nicole Naughty Auties CNN