The Other Family

On the recent Frontline special "Digital Nation", there was a focus on the possible dangers and also the wonders of technology.  Many in SL were disappointed because they felt the episode focused too much on the dangers.  But I thought the show was very balanced and it's ultimate conclusion was an ancient code that we all know and rarely practice "All Things in Moderation".

Because I'm an inhabitant of VRs (SL, Warcraft, Warhammer, inactive in Eve Online) I found the information about a guild in Warcraft and IBM training employees in SL the most enjoyable.  What stunned the hosts of the show (Rushkoff and Dretzin), was that VR customers were seeking connection perhaps even more than entertainment.  Yes, these places are game worlds but many players have joined in with an eye to turn the places into a public forum, a commons.  Which I think is a bit bittersweet as a goal.  Since all the VRs are ruled with restrictive EULAs that put the kabosh on free speech when it isn't to the fancy of the ruling company elite.  EULAs are a problem that must be dealt with soon if our societal ideals of free discussion without prejudice are to survive the new tech.

While Rushkoff and Dretzin held off on making any evaluations on people trying to build communities in game worlds, it was partly addressed in the section regarding internet game addiction.  In that people who seek out these worlds are, for the most part, people who are not happy with their present status quo. That there is lack in their lives.  So in essence VR residents run off to Warcraft, SL etc to build a social network and support system.  One that is lacking in real space.  Some are successful in this search and some are overtaken by addiction.

This takes me back to idea about the cave of dreams.  Elaine Supkis, at her intriguing blog Culture of Life, describes this cave as the entrance to the deepest parts of our brain.  It is the very subconscious, the font to which we all return to each night in our dreams.  Within this cave holds riches, wishes, luck, love and hate.  The fairy tales always hold warnings about the cave.  The cave is a wonderous place but there is always a fairy tale warning that we cannot take any riches from the cave, we can not eat the delicious food of the cave or love the gods/goddesses living in the cave.  Because to do so is to become entangled in unbalanced desires and to bring down ruin.  In essence to take means to suffer the fate of Midas.  The only people who survive the cave are pure of heart and free from desires.

A new Fairy Tale that holds a warning about VR is the film "Coraline".   Its a classic tale of the cave.  A young girl who is unhappy with her life, who has lost her old home and social network, discovers the cave entrance to another world.  And in that world she discovers "the other mother", "the other father", and "the other friends".  In that world, these others are all perfect, happy and live to make her feel better about herself.  This question of other family reminds me of SL people who do indeed have  "other families" inside the game.  It strikes me as incredibly unbalanced.  Yet it gives them sustenance.  But at what cost?  These are people who don't know the nitty gritty of each other's lives.  They are not experiencing the same set backs or joys.  We are all in SL as others and with the goal in mind to be accepting...supportive.  We are all there to share in the fantasy and that is dangerous.  It tricks us into thinking we are living a life when really we are just crawling down a cob webbed corridor to something dark that lies in the deepest reaches of our brains.

Here is a link to the online stream version of Digital Nation.