I saw Surrogates about two weeks ago and forgot to blog about it. I meant to, really I did, but on the day I went to see it, my housemate got horrible food poisoning, and I sent him to see the doctor later that night at 2:30am. Then I struggled with sleep deprivation the rest of the week because, well, I seem incapable of going to bed before midnight for some weird reason or another. After all that, Surrogates flew right out of my head.
Marnix's post reminded me, though. And I really wanted to write about the movie because it is scary. Not Halloween-type scary, but scary because I could definitely see our future becoming like that. Right, I'm getting ahead of myself...
Surrogates is set in a world where everyone has an avatar, or a "surrogate". The avatar is the one who goes to work, goes on dates, runs errands, and so forth, while the real person stays at home in a chair controlling their avatar. If an avatar dies -- like in a shoot-out, for example -- no problem! It's only a robot. The person just needs to get a new avatar made. He is unaffected. Untouchable. Safe.
Because it's so safe, everybody has taken to using an avatar. This way, they're protected and insulated from the real world. They don't have to take any risks, they don't have to put themselves out there, to deal with the messiness of life and living. Very, very safe.
This is what struck me the most, because for many -- note that I didn't say all! -- of us, SL is exactly that: a safe place. My friend Peter wrote about this before... SL is a place where we can explore sides of ourselves we couldn't otherwise, a place where we are freed from the constraints of the "real world" and where we can find refuge and solace from the painful reality that some of us face in our day-to-day lives.
The scary thing is that SL can seem so safe and ideal that it becomes an escape rather than a "supplement" that enriches our lives. I have actually heard two different friends say that they wished they could live in SL all the time. Hearing that made me sad, because I know their desire is born out of the difficult realities that each of them are forced to live with in the "real world".
But Surrogates reminded me that interacting through avatars could never take place of the real thing. Imagine if you never really touched anyone, if it were only your avatar touching another's avatar... how horrifying. Being single and living alone, there are days when I would kill to receive a hug, just a simple hug. All the virtual hugs in the world will never be able to fill that void.
Unfortunately, Surrogates also reminded me that we're already halfway to the reality represented in the film. Already we as a society and culture are getting very distant and disassociated with one another. A few years ago, instead of giving me a call on my birthday or sending a birthday card, friends started texting birthday wishes over the phone. Now they write "Happy birthday!" posts on my Facebook wall.
We're more connected than ever and yet conversely, less connected. With IM and Facebook and Plurk and Twitter and now SL, it's not hard to envision a future where all of us sit comfortably in our homes and socialise, even live through our avatars. That scares me. I don't want to live through my avatar!
So actually, I was kinda relieved when I started writing a notecard to a designer yesterday and nearly signed my RL first name. Phew, looks like I am still pretty mired in reality... for the moment, at least.
Great post again! the weirdest thing for me is...when I type in local chat, I always tend to call my friends their SL name. When on voice, I often shift to their RL name, and they go mad at me, lol.
btw, technology evolves fast, too fast for us to predict the consequences on human interaction. This is why each one of us must remain very careful and protect our real identities. No one knows what the future it's going to be like.
An excellent thought provoking post. I just finished Kiln People by David Brin. Same idea.
I feel slightly guilty about being one of the motives of your sleep deprivation (timezones suck), but only slightly, because I know it is sorting your inventory what keeps you awake at late night!
And about your post? Great one, it made me thought about the isolation our modern way of life can bring to us, and also about how not only virtuality, but anonimity, may alienate us *hugs*.
Well written and you've nailed the one sense it would seem to be impossible for virtual worlds to replicate. And I am aware that there are sex toys that attempt to tie in with virtuality and how sad is that? I swear that masturbation is the true mother of innovation sometimes! Technology is neither evil nor good in and of itself, but it has momentum and doesn't let us consider the consequences of its use. Thanks for the thoughtful post!
Okay... it's a long swim, but if you can make your way to where Torley lives, I'll give ya a hug. ;)
At least you haven't as often without someone to talk to in the wee hours of the morning. ;)
@Midd: I hardly ever voice, so I don't have that problem :D But as far as real identity is concerned... more on that in a future post ;)
@Cas: Ooooh now I want to read that book!
@London: Dear, you are well worth losing sleep for, and anyway, it is not you most of the time ;) *hugs*
@Pay: Yep I know. But there are a lot of lonely people out there, and this helps them... or is a temporary escape from their loneliness, at least :/
@Ari: Oh you noticed I've been bugging you lately! :P