Technology is evolving rapidly and becoming an integral part of our lives, but evolution does not necessarily mean improvement. This can be observed in detail in the worldwide bestselling novel "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline, in the film "Wall-E" by Andrew Stanton and in the article "The Good and Bad of Escaping into Virtual Reality" by Monika Kim. Technology exists in almost every activity of our lives. Technological devices are making our work easier, but they are also a curse in disguise for humanity who approves of these dystopian elements prevailing in the fictional world as well as the real one. In each of these sources the idea of technical progress, dependence on technology and escape to a virtual utopia was reinforced. When these three sources are carefully examined, the extreme reliance on these technological devices used for escapism is quite pronounced, which affects humans physically and psychologically while ending their potential to establish interaction with others in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The advancement of technology over the years has been proven to improve human lifestyle and working conditions. It is also known to be useful for medical research, military purposes and much more. However, excess of everything is disadvantageous. In the novel Ready Player One, the virtual reality known as “The OASIS”. It is an online community and the game is created with hyper-realistic graphics that make it almost impossible to distinguish between the real and virtual world. This environment is where people spend most of their time. Although OASIS appears to be fun and a paradise for everyone, it also has, in subtle ways, serious effects on people, both physically and psychologically. Since OASIS is a virtual reality and is used while seated, it limits the individual's physical movement in the real world. OASIS allows its users to customize their appearance in that community and create their own avatars. “I was also an OASIS junkie, so the only exercise I usually did back then was running away from bullies before and after school.” The fact that everyone is super lenient with OASIS essentially leaves them with no time to stretch real life muscles. All their energy is spent on moving their eyeballs and hands, which is quite rare. Since OASIS is not only a gaming platform but also a widespread community where everything is possible just like in the real world, it is easier to make friends and get closer there because it is anonymous and no one knows your real identity. This is why people prefer OASIS to the real world. “It was much more than a game or an entertainment platform.” Physical effects are only one of the consequences of OASIS, and they are not even the worst, OASIS also has a psychological effect on players. An OASIS player is mentally attached to the game and the virtual world in which he lives, which is very precious to him and in such a way that it becomes inseparable. OASIS provided people with freedom and entertainment but at the same time destroyed their ability to communicate with each other in the real world, which is where they actually are. Although today's technology is not as advanced as shown in Ready Player One, we humans are slowly trying to reach this kind of dystopian level of technology day by day. “With virtual reality, it's possible that instead of simply escaping reality by focusing on a TV show, for example, people choose to substitute a realityunhappy with a better, virtual one.” This demonstrates the futuristic growth of technology that is slowly reaching the OASIS environment that people will be able to access when they feel lonely or upside down. Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted as early as 2003 that “we will spend most of our time in virtual environments… We will all become virtual humans” which today's generation seems to be getting closer to if we closely follow our daily activities. We are slowly starting to live in a world of escapism “as critics of the increased use of TV, Internet and smartphones will tell you”. For some years the increase in the use of technical devices has caused significant psychological effects on people. “In 2004, Zhang Xiaoyi, a 13-year-old Chinese boy, allegedly committed suicide after playing WoW for 36 hours straight, to join the heroes of the game he adored.” This goes to show that overuse of gaming technology like virtual reality headsets can be more harmful than fun. Due to the high graphics of virtual reality, people believe that they are still in the real world, which makes it more difficult for them to go out into the real world and behave accordingly. The technology in our world has not caught up with that of the OASIS but looking at the rapid growth of progress, the day is not far when the OASIS can be brought into a dystopian reality. Excess of everything is always negative. The movie Wall-e explores the idea of technology and easy access to every activity around. In the film, it is shown that humans are at such a peak in the advancement of technology that it has more or less begun to take over. The technology developed by the humans in the film has demolished every physical activity they once performed in their daily lives. Furthermore, the humans living in the axiom are so attached to their screens that they miss out on all the other things that make up the spaceship. The special chairs they have are designed in such a way that they allow you to travel effortlessly instead of just pressing a button. Even screens attached to chairs keep you busy doing nothing but talking to someone or watching something. Everyone is so occupied with screens that they are not even aware of their surroundings or the luxuries they have. “We have a jogging track.” They don't even know that things like jogging exist, for them sitting in a chair all day doing nothing is normal and definitely unhealthy. While these ideas depicted in films may seem like an impossible reality, they are actually closer than they seem. A good number of companies like Sony and Samsung are trying their best to reach a higher technological stage. “One day, we believe this type of augmented and immersive reality will become part of the daily lives of billions of people.” This shows that although the technology to make wheelchairs, as shown in Wall-e, is not available, but as time goes by, the day is not far when no one will communicate face to face or even incorporate physical activity into own life. Recent studies in the technical field have shown that the focus is on self-driving cars that reduce human effort and make everything robot. Indulging too much in technology not only has a negative impact on physical health, but also has a strong effect on social life and communication with people around the world. According to the novel Ready Player One and the movie Wall-e, the easiest way to escape adversity in our lives is to avoid it by pretending it doesn't even exist. The novel accurately describes this concept throughout the novel. Due to economic problems such as poverty, energy crisis and widespread diseases, people find it easier to stay away from these problems and ignore themrather than finding a solution to them. People escape these problems by spending most of their time in the OASIS. “I created OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world.” Due to the demanding lifestyle of the society and the living conditions of the tuff, this is the only place where people feel at home. It seems preferable to the real world where people are increasingly involved in it. OASIS is designed so that no one ever feels neglected and there is always someone with whom you share your interests. “Fortunately I had access to the OASIS, which was like having an escape to a better reality. The OASIS kept me sane. It was my childhood school, a magical place where everything was possible." OASIS allowed its users to become part of a completely new utopia where anything was possible and one could do anything they wanted anonymously. From playing games to running a business, everything that was possible in the real world, was possible in OASIS. It granted users the freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want. The OASIS environment was created so that everyone felt included and no one was judged based on race or color as people have the opportunity to create their own avatar and name to make themselves known. These benefits provided by OASIS convince people to get more involved in the virtual world, rather than the real one. Likewise, the movie Wall-e also depicts the idea of escapism quite well. Set in the future, humans abandon planet Earth due to uncontrollable pollution and toxicity and begin living on a spaceship. Not solving the problem and rather changing the path is something the company decided to do because it is easier and more convenient for them. Not only did they find an alternative solution to the problem, but they also made their lifestyle easier and more relaxed. "Good morning, just a finishing touch?". The people of the future not only left the Earth, but also evolved in technology and created robots to do their work for them and demolish all the physical work they did except that of drinking food and water. “Sir, orders are: Do not return to Earth.” As robots control everything, humans are losing the ability to work and are becoming alarmingly dependent on machines to help them. Their poor decision and choosing the easy path caused them to lose the control they once had over their lives. Essentially, they are self-imprisoned and do not realize what they are missing, they do not understand the fact that changing their goal due to an obstacle in the path does not help them in any possible way but cripples society. Furthermore, it is proven that the societies depicted in these literary sources define the ideas of escape and create a new path instead of eliminating old ones. These practices can lead to greater destruction of reality and perhaps even utopia created due to existing habits of escaping problems. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The societies in these literary works are more or less equivalent, even the main cause of social degradation of human beings is the same, technology. Crippled societies exist because of the dominance of technology, and humans turn to escape as their only recourse. The humans in these literary pieces use escapism as a daily means of running away from their problems, ones that they can certainly solve but don't want to because it takes effort to solve them. Their whole escapism is based on some 21, 2008
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