Sunday, November 23, 2008
Cheating in Virtual Worlds
It seemed like when we discussed the topic of virtual world relations and if they could in fact be considered cheating that the class was pretty evenly divided on both sides of the issue. However, I think that if someone is in a sexual relationship in a virtual world that it is the same as having one in the real world. Sure only the avatars are actually engaging in the elements of a real relationship, even if it is in cyber space, but the people behind them are the ones controlling the avatars. It seems from what we discussed in class that the avatars are meant to be an extension of oneself. The avatars are put in this virtual space that is almost free of limitations so that the person controlling the avatar can live out dreams not thought possible by them in reality. So if a person is engaging in a relationship with someone else in cyberspace they must have some desire to do so in the real world, they just happen to do it virtually. However, the desires are still there and the actions are still carried out by the physical person so I believe it to be cheating. How is engaging in a conversation, sexual or nonsexual, online any different than calling someone on the telephone. I think that a good deal of people would think that a married person having repeated phone sex with someone other than their partner would be considered cheating, and I don’t think that this situation is any different.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I completely agree with Dave in that if you are in a relationship in reality, by engaging in a relationship in cyber space you are actively cheating on your partner. In the example that Dave provides, he states that most married couples would believe that if their spouse was constantly engaging in phone sex with another individual, that it would be considered cheating. However, another interesting idea to look at would be how cheating is probably much more likely to occur today (as a result of technology) than in the 1950s, where it was much more difficult for individuals to communicate in hidden, secretive ways. I highly doubt the percentage of people who want to cheat on their spouses has changed, but the fact that individuals can now send text messages, e-mails, and other forms of virtual communication without their spouse knowing can easily lead from a friendly to flirty form of communication.
Post a Comment