Virtual Worlds

Sporadically over the past few years there has been comment in the press about the impact of virtual media on society…  

[Stories range from parents neglecting their children because they are addicted to 'Second Life' (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2455567/Parents-immersed-video-game-daughter-nearly-starved-death.html), to online bullying among young people (see NSPCC Statistics), and the way social networking sites have acted as a catalyst for political protest.]

Needless to say, the Internet permits all manner of interaction between people in an environment that notes the passing of time but doesn’t actually exist physically.  If we choose, technology helps us engage with the multitudes at great speed – buying, selling, chatting, or playing.  The days of letter writing, even of telephone calls, are waning and government, business, learning and relationships are being done differently.  (Next year, I am told, I will need to renew my car tax online!)  

[Virtual worlds burst open ontological possibilities in a way never before imaginable.  Categories of time and space, and of the 'knowing/acting' individual become disconnected, dark, distorted and surreal.   The whole nature of 'being' is open for negotiation.  I wonder what Martin Heiddegger would make of it all!]

One of the big questions surrounding the use of virtual media, as far as Christians are concerned, is whether it is a force for good; an inhibitor of God’s plan for the world; or, ‘morally neutral’- a tool like any other, simply subject to the intentions of the one who wields it.  




[Recently Vicky Beeching asserted that virtual media is 'mostly neutral' whereas others are less positive, cf. Graham Houston, Virtual Morality, 1998).]  




Having reflected on this for some time, I think a number of tensions come in to play:

1) There is no doubt that the technology behind virtual media is driven by the ‘progress’ agenda of modernity; our attempt to improve, control and better the human situation through science, technology and industry.  In a sense, this is linked to a God-given calling ‘to rule’ and ‘subdue’ (Genesis 1), but in history our efforts have rarely been without unforeseen side-affects (e.g. Eighteenth Century Industrial Revolution = Twenty-first Century Global Warming).  




[For a theological critique of humanity's relationship to the environment see Richard Baukham,  The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation, 2010.]

2) Exposure to a higher volume of communication leads to a greater awareness and solidarity with our fellow human beings, as the recent campaign concerning the 200 girls kidnapped in Nigeria has shown – yet the sheer amount of messages flying our way can be overwhelming.  It is wonderful to keep up with events and the news of friends and relatives from around the world, but information overload often leads to an unreflective or un-prayerful engagement with them.  We react pragmatically to the information we receive rather than with mindfulness and grace.

3) A different ethical stance is necessary depending on the type of environment in question.  On-line gaming can be a positive experience for youngsters, allowing them to learn and adventure - just like reading a gripping novella.  

[In this respect I find Rowan Williams analysis of the lost icon of childhood insightful.  Williams suggests that imaginative play, and in particular, the exploration without consequence of fictional worlds as vital for a child's social and emotional development.  He warns of the dangers of plunging children into a world of economic and social consequences before their time (cf. Rowan Williams, Lost Icons, 2005.]

Children need be kept safe from choices they are not yet equipped to deal with.   This is even more the case with social networking websites, which seem especially open to the nastier side of human behaviour.  I sense these sites need more care, perhaps more regulation, in order to protect the young and vulnerable from the harm of hidden social dangers that this technology allows.

Whether we like it or not we are all affected by virtual worlds, even if indirectly via those we love.  It is worth being aware of the issues and to pray for the ethical and affective use of technology in the world God has made by the people God loves.