10 of 18

Write now Article Tools

To be honest, how do you define reality in today's standards? By what is real? What is three dimensional? Things you can touch, taste, hear, smell? I believe reality is a subjective term. It's easier to look at the world as something that is "Now" instead of what is real. But aside from the philosophical dilemma with the word, computers and technology are deciding our existence. Websites composed of HTML, Java Script, and other languages, are the DNA of a potential digital existence.

Allow me to take the prefix of "reality", "real". We as humans make up what is real by our senses (like I stated earlier). A website is something you can see. You can also hear it (noises, music). It's hard to taste and smell it, however, it's almost irrelevant because seeing and hearing dominate our other senses.

Websites such Youtube, with it's user generated content has become more than a video uploading site, it's a cultural breeding ground. The idea of seeing, hearing, and expressing yourself is not something that's to be taken strictly as a digital environment. Even websites such as "Helium" is user generated content. WE, the PEOPLE make up what is real, what we read, what we see.

Another example, and even more extreme one is the usage of MMORPGs, or "Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games". One such example is the ever popular "World of Warcraft", or "WoW" as abbreviated by it's users. Having played the game myself, it's obvious that this digital environment is something more than just lines of code. People have forged relationships with other people, communicated with other players from around the REAL world, and set goals that are to be obtained as a group. All these are characteristics of the real world. They are just applied to a digital one.

My definition of reality can not be limited to what is outside my room, by the ideas and expressions that people create in the outside world. Reality = ideas, ideas = reality. Digital technology is a conglomeration of ideas. Hence, it is a part of my reality.

Learn more about this author, Kyle Campbell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about How computers and technology have altered the human sense of reality?
We want to hear your view. Write now!