Day 5 Blog

Instant Messaging Vs Virtual Worlds

What is the difference between what happens on these two sites?

Instant messaging is a lot different to the 3D aspect of virtual worlds in many ways. In instant messaging there is an option to display a photo on the chat window, where people usually display an image of themselves. Instant messaging also requires an email to sign in which is available to all contacts added to the messaging friends list. For both of these reasons instant messaging is a far more realistic way of chatting. There are generally no false screen names, no 3D created physical bodies to represent the speaker and no created profile like virtual worlds have. The major difference between the two is that in virtual worlds you can create a make believe "second life" , where you can choose your appearance, choose a screen name, buy property and create a life online while chatting to others. Instant messaging is a much more simplified way of communicating, with no profiles or created characters, just a contact list and the opportunity to post a single photo. Instant messaging is a simple way of communicating with friends we add whereas virtual worlds are a lot more likey to be a meeting place to meet others on the site and to engage in a much more indepth way of socialising.

Virtual worlds could lead to a very different way of socialising in the future. It could lead to an obsession in society with wanting to be somebody else and having the ability to do this in virtual worlds will make this obsession very easy to fall into. Virtual worlds have taken communicating with others to a whole new level, that could cause problems for thoes whom begin to spend more time in their virtual world, then living their actual life. The thrill of chatting to others as a person they have created as apposed to chatting as oneself on instant messaging could become a problem for many users. If thoes signing up to virtual worlds are there as a means to communicate and they dont get carried away with the created character they could be a fun way of chatting online, but there is a very fine line to letting the virtual world take priority over their real world.