Can Social simulation in Second Life help in simulating social systems?
Social
simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in
the social sciences. The issues
explored include problems in psychology, organisational behaviour, sociology,
political science, economics, anthropology, geography, engineering, archaeology
and linguistics
Second Life was created to offer
individuals the virtual opportunity to be who they want to be, and to do what
they can’t do in real life. Over and
above the entertainment value, studies have shown that social simulation ‘games’
can influence different areas of knowledge, particularly in the educational
context.
It has been proven that online games are
guided by well-defined psycho-pedagogical objectives that can be used to
develop a wide range of cognitive abilities, e.g. creativity and spatial
vision, and may also be used to rehabilitate different cognitive capabilities of
injured patients.
As with other games, Second Life enables
people to build a virtual environment, create and manage "things"
that can perform various activities such as, for example, work and interact
with people from different cultures and also establish social and affective
relationships.
The virtual environment has enabled
researchers to recruit participants for various surveys. To watch them and interview them as you would
in a real life scenario. Therefore
making possible its use in social simulation.
We can highlight some psychosocial aspects that interaction in Second Life
enables e.g., the absence of any limitation to establish relationships with
avatars. The player can choose what to do with their avatar. To create
emotional bonds and to experience different situations and emotional states
with other players, and to judge the events according to their moral
principles.
Besides entertainment, the main appeal of games
like Second Life, is that it allows users to create and participate in
unpublished scenarios. In this environment it’s possible for researchers to
simulate a conflict scenario in which a group of players experience the need
for rules, share and preserve resources for the group's survival and then evaluate
the reactions of the group, before that scenario.
The fact that Second Life includes people
from different parts of the world with the premise of entertainment that
enables the establishment of social ties, the emotional involvement of the
users, and the union of people enables the creation of strategic planning. It becomes an excellent tool that can aid in
social simulation experiments.
Thus Second Life, as with other games, is guided by well-defined objectives, but which can contribute to a wide range of research applications and diagnostics.
Many studies point to the social isolation
and individualism that immersion in the virtual world can cause in people, but
actually experiencing situations in virtual worlds is uniting people who could
not be attached otherwise, for cultural reasons, or because of distance.
Thus, computer-mediated socialization is a
reality that can contribute to many studies using social simulation as a useful
tool.
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