Jane Denson, 11/5

        Last week's discussion of Poster and Jenkins' theories got me thinking about participatory culture and the growing reality of Postmodern Virtualities. As a member of our current generation, I am genuinely intrigued by the notions presented by these two theorists. During our class dialogue, I found it interesting that people my age don't consider previous technological inventions (e.g. the telephone) to be technology, since we have been greatly conditioned by them from an early age to accept them the way they are. Going back to Poster, his analysis of simulative reality certainly makes me wonder about our current world's direction into a (purely) virtual realm. This opens up the question: Is virtual reality better than real? My answer is a mix, simply because while yes, virtual reality is under our very own control to reflect a fantasy or ideal scenario, it can also be quite dangerous, since it allows us to become vulnerable to losing our sense of self. Not only that, but I believe Poster's theory additionally suggests that this increasingly prominent phenomenon of simulative experience can gradually desensitize us to real-life horrors (e.g. violence and death). Look at video games, or even the news. The over-abundance of graphic imagery used to display violent behavior, harsh victimization, intense fear, etc. contributes to this overarching essence of desensitization due to the fact that viewers or players (and their senses) are constantly bombarded by it.

        To give an example from my life that pertains to Poster's notions, I play a survival horror game that entails escaping one of many malevolent killers who are attempting to sacrifice you to a higher being. It's an online multiplayer game that features a vast array of lore, visual effects, sounds, etc. to fully immerse the player in the eerie landscape of each individual trial. As a result of having the game for two years and playing for a total of 3,000+ hours, I would argue that I am completely desensitized to the violent type of activity within this virtual world, which ranges from being slashed, to being shot at, to being ripped apart. In retrospect, games like this one, of course, tie into Poster's theory, but they also relate to Jenkins' too. Here, it can be noted that because this virtual reality is online and involves interacting with other people in real time, it does indeed echo Jenkins' discussion of tapping into the shared framework of popular culture (i.e. the game itself, the horror genre, etc.) to foster connectivity between players and facilitate like-minded communication. I can safely say that I have made better friends recently through the virtual realm than the real one. Below are a couple of images from the game I play, Dead by Daylight.