After viewing The Second Skin documentary, I have a better understanding of what exactly the “virtual world” is and how it works. I am not very familiar with video games, or “gaming” online, therefore this documentary opened my eyes to a world I was unaware even existed. The stereotypical nine to five job does not exist for these “hardcore gamers.” Their lives entirely revolve around this virtual reality, and the characters they have created within it. One of the most shocking things I discovered was the intense and real relationships that these people created in their virtual world. A study showed that 1 in 3 women gamers date someone in the virtual world, and that they feel like it is a place where it is safe to get intimate. Two people that had never met in real life actually started dating on the virtual world. As Edward Castronova said, "These computers on our desks are turning into portals to other realms of existence-- realms that will one day be preferred to earth.” This quote really struck me as interesting, but factual at the same time. If people are literally meeting their boyfriends and girlfriends within the virtual world, society seems to be leaning more and more towards never even having to leave their desks. It is a bit frightening to think about, a world revolving entirely around the Internet and a virtual world. As much as I am aware of product placement in the real world, but finding out that you cannot even escape the constant advertising in the virtual world is very interesting. The documentary talks about companies in China that employ people to play in these virtual worlds and sell things. They are called gold farmers. As said in the documentary, these virtual worlds are “taking advantage of consumption fever in the United States.” Clearly, “consumption fever” has taken over the lives of American citizens.
In Culture Jam, a quote that stood out to me was found on page 69. “Gradually, many of the original ideals of the American Revolution were simply quashed.” This quote is in reference to major corporations in America and how they are more powerful than many countries in the world. They have taken over, and have capitalized on the consumption fever in America. “We let them seduce us and possess us, and from our relationship with them we derive a certain sense of security, the way prostitutes derive a sense of security from their pimps.” At first, this quote made me laugh, but the more I thought about it, it is very true.
