The Real Thing

...for me, for now, nothing compares to the real thing.

I can’t imagine a completely virtual world descending upon us. I mean, I can’t picture a future where humans wholly live through virtual reality. It is a recurring concept in movies: Matrix and Surrogates come to mind; and, even as early Demolition Man, they had already conceived a future where sex (or having carnal knowledge as our prudent Supreme Court would say) was made obsolete by that weird virtual machine thing. And, with the exponential developments we are witnessing in technology, it is hard to deny such a future as a possibility (however, remote). But, something inside me just resists the idea and tells me that the world won’t be completely virtual because people would prefer the real thing. It’s not because we won’t be capable of making the world completely virtual; it would be because we would choose not to.

It is unquestionable that technological advancements are making us experience the world in a completely different way. We can read ebooks on a screen, instead of flipping through the pages of an actual book. We can talk to friends over the phone, instead of actually meeting up. We can shop online, instead of going to the actual store. We can socialize over Facebook, instead of going to an actual party to mingle.

But, while these changes are all very welcome, I can’t help but long for the actual and tangible experience. I still want to flip through the actual book (I do love the smell of new books). I still want to actually meet up with my friends to talk (usually, over dinner). I still want to go to the actual store to shop (and snack, while I’m at it). I still want to go to actual parties to mingle (this time, over drinks). These thoughts of mine make me think that, while these new virtual experiences are very enjoyable, these are really more of complementary experiences rather than substitute experiences. These technological advancements are not meant to replace all real experiences; these were made to add to them. I mean, the fact that I can talk to my friend abroad over Skype face-to-face would, for me, never be equivalent to flying out of the country to visit that friend and have that conversation, literally, face-to-face.

But, maybe, I am just stuck within the limits of my generation. I was born at a time when technological developments were just taking place. Thus, I had a taste of the real thing. There may come a time when all the generation knows are virtual stuff. And they’ll think that longing for something tangible is anachronistic and belongs to a generation long gone. Maybe, by then, they’ll be asking me why everything has to be literal, tangible, and actual in order to be real. Maybe, the next generation will be asking me why something virtual is made less real by that fact alone. Just as some of our parents don’t completely understood the joy we take in socializing on Facebook, I won’t completely understand a future generation’s preference for a wholly virtual reality. Just as people chose Coke and made it the number one brand...just as Neo had to break free of the bonds of the Matrix just to live in a rotten physical world...for me, for now, nothing compares to the real thing.

Aldous Benjamin Camiso, Blog Entry #2

Image source: http://www.dirjournal.com/internet-journal/the-visual-tour-into-coca-cola-print-advertising/