Digital Leisure, How far Will It Go?
August 2023 Opinions
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Digital Leisure. Yes that new domain we hope to grow into a universe. Technologies are leading us to strange and wonderful places. Some of those places were once the domains of only visionaries, artists and the brave thinkers that dared to think of them. Ideas that were once heretical and could get you branded as insane and to be avoided are now becoming a reality. Let me explain.

Many of us have heard of some of the scientific theories that could get a person branded a heretic years ago and how many of those theories turned out to be true. The Earth does revolve around the Sun being a classic example. But there are many more heretical theories than the scientific ones. there are heretical beliefs in political, economic and social thought as well.

Take for example the idea of money and its value. With the emergence of digital currency our idea of money and its value are drastically changing. No more will the individual see money in their bank accounts as their possession. They will have to accept that digital money is more a thing borrowed from institutions and governments who can take it away whenever they please. This changes everything when it comes to relying on money as a source of stability in the individual’s life. Our relationship with digital money will be a different one from that with paper money. And that is still a heretical belief today.

Digital money is a little like owning a house without any windows or doors where institutions and even employers can just walk in and look around, even take what they deem they have a right to. That is a strange relationship indeed. And that truth is just one example of heresy because the mainstream media and academia refuses to acknowledge this fact.

So, what kind of relationships with one another will we have inside the emerging digital world. Firstly, we have to define the digital world as the internet and more immersive technologies where the user wears a helmet and can hear, see and even smell and fell the digital world they occupy. The idea that the digital worlds we build will be so well done that some will choose the digital world over reality is a real possibility. Call it addiction or escapism it doesn’t matter. A great film on this is “Inception”.

With these digital worlds becoming more and more convincing I see more and more people taking their vacations inside them. Some will have the option to travel to real places but will choose the digital world instead. Others will not have the choice and so will accept the digital worlds as a place to spend their leisure time. Governments will find ways to regulate and tax these places while companies will find ways to charge for things like services, goods and experiences. If they start out free or almost free they will soon be places full of fees, regulations and scams. That is just a fact. So people will have to plan their trips and “travel” with caution.

Another thing to watch out for is that the digital world might become a place where too much is permitted. The worst kind of behaviors might become acceptable because the idea will be that nobody gets hurts so ‘no harm, no foul’, as the saying goes. I mean Grand Theft Auto to the power 1000. So, my question is: Do we really want to encourage people to horrible behavior under the excuse that nobody is getting hurt? I think that in such a case this new technology is being badly used and is creating cruel, horrible people the way illegal drugs create addicts. This leads to all kinds of laws concerning the duties and responsibilities of people in the digital world toward each other and NPCs. It all sounds like a legal nightmare to construct but I’m sure there are able, well meaning people who will devote themselves to this cause. It is a very worthy cause.

One thing we should never lose is our relationship with each other. We need to keep in mind how important it is for people to physically spend time with each other. A simple way to do this is to limit the amount of time spent in the digital world each week. Maybe a maximum of 2 to 6 hours a week might be a good place to start. Otherwise, societies might have a new addiction to battle. On the whole, this digital world sounds like an exciting place.

After all these problems are ironed out this new digital world will not only be a wonderful place for leisure but a helpful tool for industry, science and business. I have no doubts that with the right rules and business environment this new universe will be a great advantage for us.

Written by John Ink2Quill

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