Reality Revisited

There's a concept that, until now, I didn't really notice consciously until that conversation. It's a concept born of the incredible access to others that we have here in AW. VR is still in it's pioneer state. By that, I mean we're still very much exploring all the possibilities of socialization made available here. We have so many people who we can contact and be friends with here that many of us are having a very difficult time sorting out the rules and standards by which we conduct ourselves in VR. It's no wonder world for others to interact and many get so caught up in making new friends at such a high rate that it's inevitable they will lose sight of the reasons for those friendships, namely, having a friend to share your thoughts & feelings with. When your contact list grows daily and the telegrams get so you feel you have to get another account name just to stay sane, you've reached that point where your ability to adapt has been passed and things start to come crashing down. I know because I've experienced it myself many times. You just have to take a deep breath and decide who you want to keep daily contact with. Find those friends who share your beliefs & desires. That takes time, much more time than the rate of contact here gives us. There's so many possible contacts now that our normal manner of socialization is just not enough anymore.

That's what VR does to us. There's such newness in it that we don't even begin to grasp all the possibilities available to us. Many don't take their friends seriously that they meet in here and feelings are being compromised at an alarming rate. Like the pioneers in our past, we are the ones who will be setting the standards for future relationships in this new domain and that's an awesome responsibility. Many cannot handle that responsibility and so we will have lots of contacts drift in & out of our VR lives. The ones who can transend that threshold and create new, positive niches will be the ones who will be remembered most. Those who can't concieve of having a "real" friendship in VR are those who probably don't want to make the enormous effort of will required to make it work. It's only human nature, really. The ones who will make it work will seem like the oddballs, the ones who seem to be too much caught up in the newness to seem "normal" to the ones who can't. That's the way it's always been for us. The vast majority will always resist new ideas no matter how positive they can be because maintaining the "status quo" is so ingrained in us.

That's a good thing though, otherwise we'd be too open to new things that truely are detrimental to our society. We'd never have made it to civilization if we'd have been too accepting. It's our way of testing out the viability of new concepts. Whew! I do go on, don't I?

Heheh In conclusion, I'll say this: Take it slow here in VR. It's here to stay, of that I'm certain my friends. Make new friends but don't let too much of a good thing seduce you into these rapid-fire relationships. We are real people behind these avatars. We have feelings & desires & goals. That will never change. It's only the interface we use to make those relationships that changes.