Virtual and Augmented Realities allow us to have a sense of exploration and fantasy without actually being in another world or leaving home. Augmented lets us see our actual world and bring in small aspects of fantasy—like having a dinosaur standing behind you in a selfie. Virtual on the other hand lets us immerse ourselves completely in a fantasy world or situation- flying a plane, killing zombies, or walking across a rope that’s 1000 feet in the air for example. VR works due to gyroscopes and motion sensors, small screens for stereoscopic display, and extremely small, lightweight but very quick computer processors. It also has omnidirectional cameras, which allow the 360 views that most, if not all, VR sets have.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are both available to the public for purchase, both becoming increasingly popular as the years pass. Virtual was first, primarily used, between 1970 to 1990 for training purposes in medical fields, flight, auto industries, and military training. The game company SEGA introduced their own VR set in 1991 and Nintendo released ‘Virtual Boy’ in 1995. The Oculus Rift, designed by Palmer Luckey, was introduced in 2010 but not released for 2 years due to video distortion issues. Today, many different video game companies have a VR set of their own, including Sony PlayStation and Valve. Augmented reality is slightly less popular than Virtual, but it is still in use. If you’ve ever played Pokémon Go- which was released in 2016- then you’re familiar with the augmented system. It’s also very visible in football games, as broadcasters are able to draw lines on the field that aren’t actually there, and can analyze plays that way. Historical sites can use Augmented Reality to overlay today’s ruins with what used to be the glorious site that lay there in history, much like Pompeii.

With Virtual reality now in our hands, we can easily do things we might not think possible- both realistic and fantasy. Suddenly, we can be in space with Luke and swinging light sabers around, fighting zombies with Daryl and Rick, and even seeing the Irish countryside and looking off into the ocean below the cliff we’re standing on. We can visit places we might not ever be able to go, if for a fear of planes or boats- like Europe, Hawaii, Japan, or Alaska. It also allows us to practice real-world situations, depending on the reality, like flying a plane for Pilot training, Medical training, and Military practices. Military officials can train their people for raids, dropping from planes, and possible situations without having them in any imminent danger. They can test someone who recently was in a traumatic event, to see how they might react to situations once back in the field, without the possibility of an innocent person getting killed. It also helps Psychologists and Therapists who are aiding a client through fear, as the client can wear the headset in a safe place and look down off a cliff (fear of heights) or be close to an animal (fear of spiders, snakes, or any other animal).

As with most things, there are some dangers to Virtual Reality. Those that have sensitivity to lights, get headaches easily, or have seizures could experience less than a fun time. You could also get injured, if you’re not watching where you are—and are moving around a lot in the VR you’re wrapped in. Tripping over items, running into walls, or even getting too close to another person could all easily end up in injury. Personally, I have an Oculus and I’ve constantly run into things—and it’s not for lack of trying. Despite it having a set area that you can play in, accidents can still happen. I also get headaches within 30 minutes of playing it, despite not having migraine health problems. Once the headache creeps in—that’s when it’s time to stop playing, take a break, something. The most common health concern that occurs is called Cybersickness, which has symptoms similar to motion sickness- dizziness, headaches, stomach awareness, sweating, fatigue, and general discomfort. VR does offer several immersion types, in an effort to combat problems like this. There is non-immersive, where real-world elements can still creep in and combat nausea symptoms. Semi-Immersive combines real-world objects to replicate experiences, like flight simulations. Finally, fully immersive is almost completely digital where you can fully explore environments.

Google AR & VR | Home

What Is VR? A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Reality | Digital Trends

What Is Augmented Reality? | The Franklin Institute (fi.edu)

Virtual reality – Wikipedia

TikTok is a very popular video sharing app, found on both desktop and mobile- but is probably most popular on mobile. While there is YouTube for sharing videos, TikTok is primarily for shorts, or short videos, ranging in topics. Most are funny and meant for laughs, for sharing quick tips, and also for challenges—which most recently TikTok has gotten in legal trouble over a ‘Blackout Challenge’. Primarily this app is used to just pass time, have some laughs, and (for some) get an online following. [1]

While TikTok is meant for younger generations, even older generations use it daily. People of any age can watch the short videos, as even the videos done by younger generations get laughs out of the older generation—and vice versa! TikTok uses an FYP (For You Page) algorithm to get similar content to what people watch, based on what they’ve already seen. Did you just watch a few dance videos? They’ll show you a few more you might like! All generations can get in on trends as well, where you record videos following a short dance or audio clip and post it for others to view. [2]

Another popular mobile app is Instagram, a picture-sharing and video-sharing app used by millions of people all over the world- both individuals and businesses. When you decide to share a picture (or short video) you can use hashtags to get more viewers (as a lot of people search for certain tags) and you can follow other people to see their content regularly. This is good for businesses, especially photographers and small businesses, as the site is free to use and can get their products seen by thousands (and more) daily. There is a filter program that you can use on your photographs, to change the hues and saturations of them to give a different look. [3]

Instagram is mostly used by the younger generations (under 40 years old) but it’s not to say the older generations don’t use the app. A lot of businesses, especially smaller businesses and home-ran businesses use Instagram, so even the mom-and-pop stores can get an influx of customers with a little help from the networking service. When you make a post to Instagram, you can also post it to Facebook- as long as you link your two accounts- as Facebook has acquired the app.

There is a dark side to Instagram however, despite the good it could do for people. There’s a list of known impact on individuals including anxiety, addiction, mental health (especially to younger generations under 25), social exclusion, alcohol/drug use, self-harm risks and pedophilia. A majority of Instagram users are under 23 years old, and there were plans (at one point) to launch an Instagram for children under 13. Social media already harms self-image concerns for people all over the world (especially adolescent females) and if children had their own version, it would make it all to easier for pedophiles to get access to their photos and communicate with them (more than they already can). [4]

[1] What Is the Blackout Challenge and What Has TikTok Said About It? (msn.com)

[2] Why Is TikTok So Popular? Why the Social Network Is Unique (howtogeek.com)

[3] Instagram for Business: Marketing on Instagram | Instagram for Business

[4] Instagram – Wikipedia

There are a lot of Cloud-Based networks out there that people use to share information with others and to share with other devices they use. Maybe they are working on something with a partner and need to ensure both parties can see any edits made by the other as they work on their part. Even an individual might want to be able to save a project on their desktop and be able to open it on their tablet without having to email it to themselves every time or put it on a flash drive. Flash drives could potentially become corrupted, break, or get lost. Personally, the main two Cloud-based systems I use weekly, sometimes daily, are Google Drive and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Adobe Creative Cloud is one of the many programs offered by Adobe- and it’s not just a single program. Creative Cloud is a set of programs, offered by Adobe, that gives it’s users unlimited access to a wide collection of software. Subscribers can use these collections to edit videos, for graphic design, web development, and even photography. Not only is there the main computer version but Adobe also has a mobile application. Adobe Creative Cloud has at least 38 different products and services that are offered, all supported on multiple operating systems and available in different packages available to purchase.

Google Drive began being offered to users back in 2012 as file storage and synchronization service. With a Drive account, you can open and edit a document on one computer- then after saving, can log into drive on another computer or tablet, and you can continue modifying the document. It’s not just for documents either, as you can upload photos to it and share them with other Google Drive accounts. They offer users 15 GB for free, with other sizes like 100 GB and 1 TB available through paid subscriptions. Google Drive allows viewing of over 25 file formats including JPEG, Adobe Photoshop, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Word. This application would probably not work well if it was not in the cloud, as sharing and editing in live time would be near impossible and the multitude of file formats available would possibly corrupt the files.

There will always be some form of privacy concern when using Cloud software. It could potentially make it easier for hackers to get into if opened on multiple devices- any of which could be at risk. There’s also the chance that, if on a public computer, someone forgets to log out of their account. Now, anyone who gets on that computer has access to anything in your Drive.

Adobe Creative Cloud – Wikipedia

Google Drive – Wikipedia

Bad behavior is everywhere you look when you’re online. Hackers and scammers try ruining your life one way or another and everyday bullies try to make you feel terrible. Bullies take many forms, and most aren’t afraid to act in public, however, there are those cyber bullies that hide behind their screens and post cruel words against an individual that they might not actually have the courage to do in person.

Social media is a wide ground where bullies can search for targets and easily post their hateful words. For instance, if we looked at Twitter and the Professional Wrestling community, we could find a slew of bullies and posts aimed at the wrestlers, especially in light of everything that has gone on as of late. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has released a lot of its talent since early 2020, whether from budget cuts, talent not performing to a standard, or individuals requesting their leave. Now, as fans- no one knows what goes on backstage; we can’t say that talent is difficult to work with, that they have a poor work ethic or they deserve anything. However, recently on Twitter, there have been a lot of posts against recent talent releases and even current superstars out with injury. Sasha Banks (recently released) and Rhea Ripley (out with injury) recently are some of the more recent victims of a cyberbully—who has since deleted his tweet. His words spewed hate toward the two ladies, essentially stating they were terrible at their job and deserved to be physically attacked. Rhea herself responded to his tweet, stating “Demi here… ya know, the real-life human inside Rhea. Just wanted to point out that WRESTLERS and any form of ENTERTAINER is a real-life human off-screen. Don’t wish harm on ANYONE. Don’t wish for anyone to be BURIED. Don’t wish for anyone to be FIRED. F’n disgrace”. Her response has currently gained over 1300 comments (most of which encourage her and are in agreeance) and over 23,000 likes.

Hate against individuals like this is very common, as the ‘fan’ doesn’t like a talent, doesn’t agree with something they say or do—or even what they’re doing on-screen as part of their job—and lash out against them. Sometimes they gather like-minded individuals, but most of the time they only receive backlash as ‘true fans’ lash out against them. The guy mentioned above, as I stated, has deleted his comment, probably in response to the backlash he received, but he’s only one of the thousands out there that make comments like this against wrestling talent. No reprimanding is done, no justice to those that are attacked by the words. The only damage done is against their ego and pride, especially when they can’t get the satisfaction they were looking for.

Instances like these are the primary reason I don’t comment on things anymore. A year or so ago I commented once on someone’s tweet, showing my support to them—and what did I get in response? A bully responded to me, telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about, that I was stupid and needed to go kill myself. I’m a naturally sensitive person and having someone tell me that in such a hateful way crushed me. I felt like crap, despite the fact I knew it was common and he had probably done it to many people. I left my comment up—not giving him the satisfaction of deleting my praise of someone—but I disappeared from Twitter for a while. I reported his tweet to Twitter as Hate speech, and they merely asked if I wanted to block the individual. That was all that could be done—because it’s really all that CAN be done. Virtual hate comments like this, until they get to the stage of harassment, are technically not illegal and that’s why people do it because they know they can get away with it.