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• 1 media/False Reality Header.png 2020-10-30T16:06:52-07:00 A False Reality - Xander, Tiffany, Araceli 31 What would the world look like if people didn't live in it? image_header 2020-10-30T20:42:15-07:00 They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. By definition, a utopia must be beautiful, so it is not possible for any one reality to be a utopia for all people. One solution to this problem that we already have to a certain extent and that could be developed to a much higher level is Virtual Reality, or VR. What would a society based around this look like? The question arises for all citizens of this “utopia”: how do we embrace the warmth of humanity in the void of cold technology tools? How do you balance reality and virtual reality? How do you communicate the diversity of culture beyond the barriers of race, class, and gender?
  
  The Storyworld:
  
  A society where VR is sufficiently advanced to the point where people can essentially escape from reality and live in an alternate world of their own design, in a body of their own design. This society would have elements of both utopia and dystopia. 
  
  Utopian Elements:
  
  Elements that create a “perfect” world away from reality.
  
  
  
  The closest thing we have currently to an alternate reality is VRChat. It is “a surreal virtual meeting space that lets people socialize, attend events, take classes, create art, play games, perform for large crowds, and explore virtual environments — all from the comfort of their own homes … Users claim to have found a community unparalleled by real life there, and a surprisingly large group of people have come out saying that VRChat has saved their lives, as they battle with mental health issues like loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Unfortunately, like other places on the internet, harassment, trolling and hacking are present here, too”.
  
  Already, VR and the concept of an “alternate world” where people can escape to is saving lives of those who feel unable to fit in in the real world. 
  
  Dystopian Elements:
  
  As the desire for technology got richly satisfied by technology, humans became more and more reliant on the use of technology and thus endured the negative effects of it. Health issues include decreasing eye vision, severe hunchback, and disability to focus and concentrate in the real world. By choosing to live in the false reality, each individual puts a false mask on themselves in a virtual community to evade the criticisms and judgments from reality. 
  
  
  
  
  In reality, “creating a false self to mask fears and insecurities has become so common that many of us forget who we are and what we feel underneath the pretense” (Hooks 48). 
  
  In all about love, Hooks stresses honest communication as the major component of a healthy and loving community. In a world where being one’s genuine self is making one vulnerable to the judgments from patriarchal norms, Hook discusses the importance for the world to encourage individuals’ authentic selves behind the mask. Who are you really, behind the masks in real life and virtual avatars in False Reality?
  
  "To be loving we willingly hear each other's truth and, most important, we affirm the value of truth-telling. Lies may make people feel better, but they do not help them to know love” (Hooks 49). 
  
  
  
  Conclusion: 
  
  To reach out to some form of altered reality, through the illusive utopia that virtual reality offers, is an act of ignorance towards the injustices that occur in reality. Avoiding the faults of an exclusive society may seem to be a pleasurable decision for the single individual, however, it is an act of privilege that allows society to continue discriminatory practices by turning a blind eye. While a person is sucked into this fantastical realm of ephemeral happiness, not only is their mind and body being spent, but so is the love in the world outside. The issues we must address would become buried in favor of a false reality. According to Bell Hooks in her book All About Love, “The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be” (Hooks 33). Ultimately, this highlights the need for both an acceptance of reality and a need for action in order for society to progress towards love and inclusivity.