Second Life: A Threat to Humanity?

In Part III of Open Sky, Virilio discusses how technology has changed traditional relationships, making physical relationships more uncommon and virtual ones more popular. "From now on, distancing prevails over nuptial abduction; as, with teleconferencing, what counts above all is the separation, the putting asunder of face-to-face parties; touch, physical contact between partners, being no longer the go so much as the rejection of the other person" (108).

Society is functioning at a much faster pace than it used to, so as a result we need speed up the way we go about our everyday lives. The Internet, particularly social media, is intended to provide information quickly. Social media is intended to keep people connected in this busy and fast-paced world, however our obsession with staying connected is resulting in more online relationships and less physical contact.

I agree with Virilio that all of this technology that we are exposed to on a daily basis takes away from physical relationships. Much of the Internet is now interactive and demands attention, taking us away from paying attention to the real world and what's going on around us. While social media sites (ie: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) are interactive forms of media, the connections and relationships all take place online, in a virtual world, rather than in the physical world with interpersonal relationships.

I believe the purpose of social media is to serve a supplement to physical, interpersonal relationships; however, I see more and more people creating two different accounts (personal/public and professional/private accounts) to separate their different relationships in the virtual world. By creating two different accounts people are no longer using social media as a supplement to their interpersonal relationships, but rather using it as a substitute to these physical relationships.

I disagree with Virilio's claim that this obsession with virtual relationships could result in the loss of physical relationships altogether, which in turn would result in threatened reproduction and continuity of the human race. I think that statement is a bit extreme, especially since a lot of relationships that begin on the Internet (the virtual world) end up turning into physical relationships (in the real world). 

Let's look at online dating as an example of virtual relationships turning into physical relationships. Many online dating websites such as EHarmony provide people with a directory of potential mates. It's up to the individuals to choose who they want to meet. Most of these relationships are initiated through the Internet, but are continued as an interpersonal/face-to-face relationship. The image below shows a couple that met through eHarmony and got married after forming an interpersonal relationship.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I learned about a website called Second Life, which allows people to essentially play a video game of their life - so they are virtually living their life. This honestly worries me and makes me question humanity and Virilio's claim that the human race could become extinct. However, I have yet to meet someone who plays Second Life, and only lives in a virtual world. 

So there are options for people to live an entirely virtual life (Second Life), but I have yet to meet anyone who participates in this form of living. I'm sure that there are many people who have a Second Life account, and maybe even people that do nothing but play Second Life; however, I do not believe that this form of living will ever replace physical relationships that take place in the real world.