We live in a virtual world today. What we need physically are provided for by machines and a few humans. All basic human needs are fairly inexpensive and easy to acquire.
We spend most of our day in front of computers, glued to our phones, talking to dots & colors on computer screens and phone apps.
We communicate with people we can’t see, and usually do not hear their voices. Just words on a screen, or some virtual meetings via video conferencing, projected over LCD monitors.
Most of our lives are spent on a desk, typing and chatting over instant messaging apps, observing colors on a screen, interpreting emojis, thumbs up, thumbs down and smilies..
We live in our minds through the assistance of these computer software programs. We imagine and feel through these logos, emojis, and other fictionalized emotional symbols.
Sometimes I make phone calls, and speak with people I can’t see, I just hear their voices. Voices reproduced electronically through analog and digital devices that reproduce real human voices in real time.
We move virtual money through computers, nothing real like paper and coins. Money is represented by digits on a screen. You can buy things online and have it delivered to your door using virtual money you earned doing things in front of computer screens, maneuvering pixels and typing words, answering questions or solving some problems.
We assess ourselves by the number of zeroes in our bank account, the number of likes and shares from our social media channels. Through “fictionalized” photos, pictures and smiles, we imagine the world and the life we think we have.
We get the news through words and messages on a digital screen. We don’t see anything real directly.
We get outraged when we read about something horrific that happened somewhere, that some website posted. The next moment, we can’t help but laugh because of a funny tweet. All is good in our virtual world again…
We read the stock market is up, the stock market is down, people are dying, the world is getting better, the climate is changing, the climate is about the same as always… So and so is corrupt, or maybe so and so is a hero. You look outside your window, and everything seems about the same…
I could be in Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo or Mexico City. While sitting in front of a PC, I would have no idea exactly where I was…. The virtual world remains the same…
The only thing real is the chair underneath me, keyboard I feel on my fingers, the black margin of my monitor screen, the sun light that occasionally enters my office, the food I quickly take down when I feel an emptiness in my stomach, or the liquid I drink, usually coffee, when my throat feels dry and scratchy…
I notice the real world again when I go home for the day. I notice the front lobby of the office and the night sky.
I get into my real bed, and then enter the virtual world of dreams.
We live in a virtual world.
The End
