Being Virtual: Who You Really Are Online (Paperback)

Thanks to the Internet, it has never been so easy to become the person of your wildest dreams. Immersive 3D worlds such as Second Life and THERE.com provide an escape route from the ordinary, into a virtual world where you have the power to mould your life in any way you please. Forget about walking, wheelchair users can fly. Pensioners wipe away the pains of age, discovering youthful exuberance and making young friends once more. No wonder it has become harder than ever to honestly answer the question: who am I?

In Being Virtual, Davey Winder looks at how an increasing number of us are living part-real, part-virtual lives, and how it affects who we are. He looks at the opportunities and dangers that a virtual identity offers us, how we juggle our real and online lives, and what happens when one spills over into the other… He uses his own personal experiences to bring the issues to life, and backs them up with the real-life stories of others and testimony from the experts.  Along the way, he looks at some fascinating questions such as:

• Are you a virtual liar?
• What happens when our virtual and real worlds collide?
• Why will you talk to anyone online, but nobody on the train to work?
• Why do so many middle-aged men transform into teenage girls online?
• Is it possible to have any secrets in such a connected world?

Being Virtual gives a glimpse into the future of human identity, and is a must-read for anyone who uses the Internet to enhance - or escape from - their 'ordinary' life.

About the author

Davey Winder has been a freelance journalist for 16 years, and is Contributing Editor of the best-selling IT magazine, PC Pro. He has picked up many awards including Technology Journalist of the Year and IT Security Journalist of the Year. A founder member of the Internet Society of England and author of more than 20 books, his blog can be found at:

 

http://happygeeknewmedia.blogspot.com/

 

多虧了互聯網，成為你最瘋狂夢想中的人從未如此容易。像是Second Life和THERE.com這樣的沉浸式3D世界提供了一條逃離平凡生活的出路，進入一個虛擬世界，在這裡你可以按照自己的意願塑造生活。忘掉步行吧，輪椅使用者可以飛翔。退休人士可以抹去年齡的痛苦，重新發現年輕的活力，結交年輕朋友。難怪如今回答「我是誰？」這個問題變得比以往更加困難。

在《虛擬存在》一書中，戴維·溫德爾（Davey Winder）探討了越來越多人過著部分真實、部分虛擬的生活，以及這如何影響我們的身份。他探討了虛擬身份所帶來的機遇和危險，我們如何平衡現實和網絡生活，以及當兩者相互交錯時會發生什麼事情...他通過自己的個人經歷將這些問題生動地呈現出來，並通過他人的真實故事和專家的證詞加以佐證。在此過程中，他提出了一些引人入勝的問題，例如：

- 你是一個虛擬的騙子嗎？
- 當我們的虛擬和現實世界相撞時會發生什麼？
- 為什麼你願意在線上與任何人交談，但不願意在上班的火車上與任何人交談？
- 為什麼這麼多中年男性在線上變成十幾歲的女孩？
- 在這樣一個高度連接的世界中，是否可能保有任何秘密？

《虛擬存在》展示了人類身份的未來，對於任何利用互聯網來增強或逃避他們「平凡」生活的人來說，這是一本必讀之作。

關於作者：
戴維·溫德爾（Davey Winder）是一位自由記者，已經從事這個行業16年，並擔任暢銷IT雜誌《PC Pro》的特約編輯。他獲得了許多獎項，包括年度技術記者和年度IT安全記者。作為英國互聯網協會的創始成員和超過20本書的作者，他的博客位於：http://happygeeknewmedia.blogspot.com/。