The Real Self

In this era of globalization, one can easily connect with people living in different locations at ease. We may be very well versed with people we have never met in life but may be equally ignorant of the neighbor living next door. It's an age where we spend considerable time in virtual world as we do in the real world. The explosive growth of communication media has greatly impacted our life. Sometimes, it's very difficult to dissociate oneself from virtual world.So, people revere movie stars as Gods, news channels make and break governments, people sympathize with protagonist battling scheming vamps, or look for their marriage partners online. Today, for every real activity, there is a virtual counterpart. You can fight wars, manage business, sing, shoot, cook, plan family, travel to other planets, and even save humanity online.

So, what has led to so profound emergence of this virtual world? It's difficult to answer it precisely. But this could be a result of interplay of various factors. Firstly, the technological advancement has continually challenged the limits of human capability. It has broken barriers and made access to one another quite easy. Secondly, the growth of trade and commerce, has led to not only movement of goods and services, but people as well. They carry along with them their culture, ideas, and practices. The mingling of ideas has led to innovations aimed at achieving more with lesser labor. Another closely related aspect is availability of time. The technological advancement and innovation has left us with more time than ever. A person spends less time and labor on her/his chores with aid of technology; s/he also doesn't have to spend time looking for resources as they would be readily available at a nearby location thanks to global trade. One can also not ignore, the social and psychological factors. Humans have always pined for emotional support and achievement. They always want to recognized, loved, and be able to do more than they are capable of. The virtual world exploits this unfulfilled emotion, by allowing people to live in a new world, where they could choose rules of the game. The immoderate commercialization has fueled the growth of virtual world. Since, people see money in this, they are attracted to present others with their wished dreams.

Whether, this virtual world is creating an alter ego or enabling one to utilize his/her capabilities and skills is another question which needs some introspection and analysis. But there is no denying, that there is virtually another dimension to our life and may be our real self.