From what I understand of the Malpas reading it is incorrect to think of the real world virtual worlds as separate entities as virtual worlds are depended upon and based upon the structures of real life.
Malpas states “There is thus only the one world, and the virtual is a part of it” (Malpas 2009 p.136)
He notes that real and virtual worlds share similarities such as
o Communication models
· Linguistics: the same languages are used in and out of virtual worlds for people to communicate
· Reading of content: we attach and associate meaning with objects in the real world and these associations are reflected in the virtual world
o Relationships
· The basis of a virtual relationship relies on “honesty trust and respect” (Malpas 2009 p. 138) which are the same things we value in face to face relationships
o Ethics and Law
· Virtual life is still answerable to the laws of real life e.g. you still have to sign legal terms of agreement to play a game of join Facebook, these are laws made in the real world
· The ethical beliefs of people in the real world are reflected in the virtual
The difference between the real world and the virtual are
· That the virtual world cannot operate without the infrastructure that exists in the real world – the real world can operate without the virtual
· Virtual worlds can be constrained by “genre-specific frameworks”(Malpas 2009 p. 138) and as such do not offer as much diversity as the real world.
Malpas, J. 2009. On the Non-Autonomy of the Virtual. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 15 (2): 135-139. http://con.sagepub.com (accessed 16/11/11)
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