The first thing that came to my mind when i read the words Virtual World is WoW otherwise known as World of Warcraft. Although I have never played it I hear a lot about it from friends and randomly in the media. This game fits under the genre of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). There are Millions..yes MILLIONS of Players subscribed on WoW. It is literally another world in which players can tune out reality and live through their characters. Just like in real-life you can run, walk, talk and even meet people online since it is basically one big community. Virtual Worlds have revolutionized gaming which was once done at home playing on a console system and having friends over. This whole new world lets us interact with other people. Virtual Worlds can also provide convenience. As mentioned by Dave Itzkoff's article "Ive Been in That Club, Just Not in Real life" he tells us about how he went to a packed music club called the Cake Shop on Ludlow street being fed up with it he decided to go home and log onto his virtual world where he went "back" to the Cake Shop. I was shocked to hear about this because I am from the Lower East Side and makes me curious to check out my neighborhood in the Virtual World..its just mind blowing ! Like the saying "too much of anything can be bad for you" Too much internet usage may lead to bad health. In fact it can be easy to lose track of time when you're rummaging the online world fighting demons or flying around. Day turns to night the next thing you know you've skipped 3 meals for the day and now you're headed back to bed. Virtual Worlds can also be addicting, I mean online you can be anybody you want to be and some people may just feel ignored or non existent in the real world. I am also amazed at how much detail is put into designing and making these online worlds. It seems almost too good to be true. Upon reading this article I thought about how Dwight Schrute from The Office had a second life account and in it he was also a paper sales man and to make matters worse he was twice removed from the world. I love Dwight this man just gets me somehow. Its not hard to see how some people may substitute the real world with a virtual one. In our virtual we can be literally the best that we can nearly perfect. As seen in the video there is a good side for those that have disabilities in real life they can do things in the virtual world which they cant in real life such as, throwing a ball, running, swimming, walking, laying in the grass, even flying etc. The next generation of children will be introduced to technology at a far younger rate than our parents, who knows what direction that will lead. We have become so dependent on technology that when I leave my cellphone at home I feel like I am forgetting my arm, I am sure that I am not the only one !! Movies like surrogates make me fearful of the future. Will there be a day that we will fear to walk out of our homes, wash the car, walk the dog, or lay in the sun ? With that said, Good night folks !

"I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life" by Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, January 6, 2008