Today in class we had a Skype conversation with two people who had conducted a study on how the virtual world "second life" (SL) offered a great forum for dialogue and expression in the Middle East. It is a fascinating subject. Exploring the virtual world as a way of connecting with people of different beliefs transcending challenges like geography, finances (to an extent), and opportunity is something very valuable and has been looked into as a tool by the CIA as well. While all of this is good stuff, I tend to be skeptical of the reach it has as of now.
For one thing, virtual reality has a bad connotation with many people who think about others pretending to be something other than themselves. Now with all the fears of internet predation, obsessive users and a closer connection to fantasy than reality many are left with a bad taste in their mouth. This is not my main problem. Using virtual reality as a tool is limited. One of the conductors of the study mentioned how on a virtual hajj (pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca) she spoke with a man and was able to converse with him and ask questions about Islam, a dialogue that would not have taken place had she actually been there. While this is great for that experience, I am forced to question if it is truly a representation of the Middle Eastern and a way of reaching out to those who don't understand each other? And what about a language barrier for an average user?
In many places, internet is unreliable (let alone not containing the bandwidth necessary for such virtual forums), having the technology can be expensive and anyone who chooses to go on something like SL is thus volunteering for such a dialogue and must be open-minded to begin with. If the goal is to reach the masses, than we are not there yet. There are many open minded people in the ME as there are in the US. Those people are not the problem. It is the ones who refuse to put themselves out there to learn and clarify misunderstandings in places all over the world that present the problem of not seeing eye to eye. As of now, I cannot imagine these people are using forums like SL as a tool for dialogue. Those who currently use it must be of an elite group, be it education, financial, or political. This elite does not represent the masses for either Westerners or Arabs.
I will say this, the idea is good and should definitely be pursued, but through our conversation with these specialists, I did not feel they understood the reality of the limitations in their virtual reality. I felt the value of the project was trying to be sold to me rather than presenting the information to be taken as it is. Certain examples were too played up in importance and I felt necessary questions and doubts were being excluded from mention.
This will be a really interesting tool to watch develop as the potential may be great, but as of now there are too many limitations in place to make it accessible and widespread to achieve the intended result. Of course, who knew blogging, Twitter and Facebook could become such an influential tool?
For one thing, virtual reality has a bad connotation with many people who think about others pretending to be something other than themselves. Now with all the fears of internet predation, obsessive users and a closer connection to fantasy than reality many are left with a bad taste in their mouth. This is not my main problem. Using virtual reality as a tool is limited. One of the conductors of the study mentioned how on a virtual hajj (pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca) she spoke with a man and was able to converse with him and ask questions about Islam, a dialogue that would not have taken place had she actually been there. While this is great for that experience, I am forced to question if it is truly a representation of the Middle Eastern and a way of reaching out to those who don't understand each other? And what about a language barrier for an average user?
In many places, internet is unreliable (let alone not containing the bandwidth necessary for such virtual forums), having the technology can be expensive and anyone who chooses to go on something like SL is thus volunteering for such a dialogue and must be open-minded to begin with. If the goal is to reach the masses, than we are not there yet. There are many open minded people in the ME as there are in the US. Those people are not the problem. It is the ones who refuse to put themselves out there to learn and clarify misunderstandings in places all over the world that present the problem of not seeing eye to eye. As of now, I cannot imagine these people are using forums like SL as a tool for dialogue. Those who currently use it must be of an elite group, be it education, financial, or political. This elite does not represent the masses for either Westerners or Arabs.
I will say this, the idea is good and should definitely be pursued, but through our conversation with these specialists, I did not feel they understood the reality of the limitations in their virtual reality. I felt the value of the project was trying to be sold to me rather than presenting the information to be taken as it is. Certain examples were too played up in importance and I felt necessary questions and doubts were being excluded from mention.
This will be a really interesting tool to watch develop as the potential may be great, but as of now there are too many limitations in place to make it accessible and widespread to achieve the intended result. Of course, who knew blogging, Twitter and Facebook could become such an influential tool?
