Book #33
Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline
This book takes place in a dystopian future where personal and collective problems can be ignored by plugging into the OASIS: a virtual reality universe where you can interact with users from all over the world. It has its own timezone, its own currency- which is more stable than the Yuan, Euro, or US dollar, and has its own school system. In many ways, it is more established than reality.
It is revolutionary.
However, it can also be distracting and disorienting. Since many people spend the majority of their time in the OASIS, the lines between what is real and fake can blur.
Although this is a fictional novel, it closely mirrors our own reality- perhaps this is where we are collectively headed. The ramifications of a virtual reality like this would be immense; affecting all parts of human existence. Below, I would like to explore how some aspects of life compare in a virtual reality to genuine reality.
Genuine Reality vs. Virtual Reality
Identity
In the OASIS, you can be whoever you want to be: tall, muscular, a different gender, race, or species, etc. Who would you be if you could be anyone?
Would this avatar be an extension of your real world self or someone completely different? Is it even possible for these two to be completely distinct? Or would it be more like a writer and their book character; with a piece of the genuine inside the fictional, and vice versa?
An Example From the Book
In the book, the main character, in the form of his avatar Parzival, is talking to another player (Art3mis), inside the OASIS. He argues to his online friend that everyone exists in the OASIS as “raw personality”. All other aspects of the users are stripped away. Therefore how they behave must be their true self.
Art3mis argues back that the reason the OASIS is so addictive is because people can choose who they want to be. You don’t have to be yourself there.
Which of these is true? Is there freedom in anonymity, or delusion, or manipulation- or perhaps a mixture?
An Example From My Own Life
I have been writing this blog anonymously for 6 months now. But I am intentionally trying to be deeply authentic despite my anonymity. In fact, I find that my anonymity helps me to be more authentic.
For some, hiding behind an avatar removes real world barriers, such as social awkwardness, isolation, physical disability, biases, and prejudices. But for others this anonymity would provide a lack of accountability.
And what about unintended consequences like a person getting confused about who they genuinely are because they spend so much time as someone else? Spending our lives in an illusion would surely be unmooring.
Relationships
Anonymous Connections
Through this blog, I’ve shared more honestly with strangers online than I have with people in my real life. Online spaces can be healing and cathartic, especially for those in isolating or abusive environments. Still, these connections are veiled.
In the OASIS, you could meet, become friends with, fall in love with an 80-year-old woman, a divorced dad from Botswana, a 15-year old from Hanoi, or a predator. And you would never be sure.
Does it matter that you don’t know who they really are? Are the support and care they show you still real?
The depth of digital bonds can be immense. That is why people give their life savings to romance scammers. They fall hard for someone they have never met.
In the book, Wade Watts falls in love with Art3mis even though he has no idea of her real world identity. He also calls his online friend, Aech, his best friend (in fact his only friend) despite the fact that they have only talked in the OASIS.
Digital Situations Lead to Real World Consequences
At one point, Wade and Aech stop speaking for months due to tension in their OASIS lives. Losing his best friend was devastating to Wade, even though the rift occurred digitally.
That is giving away an immense amount of your personal power to a virtual reality and its citizens. But if your online friendships are more supportive and genuine than your real world relationships, then why wouldn’t you value and gravitate towards them? It is easy to get lost in online feelings when you don’t have something similar in the real world.
Besides, one of the hallmarks of any relationship is shared memories. Can memories and bonds be just as valid and vivid in the digital world as they are in real life? I am not sure, but they can be life-changing, that I know.
Deep bonds can grow through mutual virtual experiences.
Achievements & Experiences
In the OASIS, people can scale mountains or fight battles that they would never attempt in real life. The experiences can feel real enough to shape confidence and identity.
So does it matter that they aren’t physical?
Achievements
Do online achievements “count”? There can be a stark contrast between your online and real life abilities. For example, you may win a race in a video game but not be able to run 400 meters.
But some online wins seem to be genuinely celebrated: like reaching 1 million subscribers. That seems like a valid digital accomplishment. What’s the difference between that and a digital race or battle?
Here is a personal exercise that I have been pondering over:
a). Is a writer who posts online more deserving of praise than a gamer who wins virtual battles?
b). How does being a skilled “soldier” in a video game compare to the credibility of a real-world soldier? And how do these roles shape our identity?
How do these online victories or losses affect your perception of yourself? Do they feel genuine? Does it matter if they aren’t?
Experiences
Besides achievements, experiences can feel real in the OASIS. You can view a mountain from the peak, go to a planet whose laws defy gravity, you can make love to other avatars… the possibilities are limitless.
But how do these experiences compare to their real world counterparts? Is a digital sunset as beautiful as a real one?
Wade even comments that the virtual images are more vivid and rich than their real world counterparts. This is especially so because of the degraded environment in which people live.
We have moved on from the blurry pixels of early Pac-Man style video games into something that looks more clear and impressive than reality. Will this make real world experiences feel even more dull in comparison?
Emotions
Since the events in the OASIS affect people’s real lives, the players can take these wins or losses very seriously. Losing your money or your best friend in the OASIS is akin to losing those in real life. It’s devastating. And the players’ emotions reflect that.
This is amplified by the fact that some players wear sensory suits which allow them to feel what their character feels- a loving touch or a laser to the chest.
Digitally Altered Emotions
This remote emotional effect isn’t just for video games, though. Our lives can be changed by what- or who- is on the other side of a screen. It can occur through dating apps, or even online therapy sessions.
I once met with a therapist weekly online. I had never met her in-person and I only used audio when I called her. We lived in different countries and timezones. Yet still emotional intimacy developed despite all that distance.
That is a healthy example of a person’s emotions being affected digitally, however, there may be greater potential for emotional manipulation when body language and context are stripped away.
Digital events and relationships result in real emotions, for better or for worse.
Culture
Culture forms wherever people interact- so why not online? The OASIS has its own language (such as distinct vocabulary and references), values, and norms.
But can internet culture strip you of your real world culture?
What happens if this internet culture becomes more binding than our real world cultures? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Like if a child knows more about a YouTube star than about their next door neighbour?
Undesirables & Escapism
Escapism Can be Both Liberating and Pacifying
The OASIS can be used for connection and personal growth but it can also act as a digital sedative. Perhaps in the future, virtual reality will be used to keep “undesirables” calm and distracted so they don’t cause real world harm or unrest.
When people are plugged into the OASIS, they are not protesting against poverty, corporate power, or ecological collapse. They are entertained enough to not revolt.
And we don’t need virtual reality to pacify us this much. I could easily spend an entire day on YouTube- a day that I could be using to better myself, protest for something important, or help someone in need. But I am just lying there on my couch.
Who benefits from this escapism?
In Ready Player One, the corporation Innovative Online Industries, benefits from people being in the OASIS. In our world, ad-driven platforms benefit from people never logging off.
Closing Thoughts
Digital spaces aren’t exactly real, but they aren’t formless or insignificant either. They have mental and emotional depth. And they have great power to influence events in the real world on a personal and collective level.
Perhaps what matters most is the intention of the creators and the users. Are the platforms used for connection, growth, and creativity? Or are they a substitute for the reality that we are avoiding?
Messy Bun Book Lover
Read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
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