Since computers and computer games first hit the market in the late 1970s, a future filled with online gaming and social interactions has been touted by the media and technology experts.
That future was still far away in the 1980s and early 90s, but in the last 25 years, different new technologies have converged to connect people and cultures in ways that they have never been before.
More and more people are using social media, online gaming, and virtual reality to meet new people and experience new places without having to leave the comfort and security of their own home. Now these technologies are combining and developing together, and very soon hopping into a virtual space to meet friends and share experiences will be a part of our day-to-day lives.
These online gaming opportunities and virtual spaces create an opportunity to travel virtually by giving you an immersive experience that includes new people, unique cultures, and even virtual walks through real spaces.
Shared Sporting Experiences can Take You To New Places and Culture
Sports and gaming focussed social media sites, as well as apps, are letting people enjoy sporting events and competitive games together. This lets you experience new perspectives and make new friends from the comfort of your own home. It’s like traveling without moving!
Watching a football game online or playing online casino games, often allows you to communicate with fans and players from across the globe that you have something in common with; a love of the game.
Many sports betting and streaming sites let viewers interact with one another. People all over the world are also sharing virtual casino experiences, by visiting casino sites like the online casino that has portals for players from all over the world, and allows them to play some of the most popular slot machines that you can find anywhere on the world wide web.
Many major sporting events may soon have virtual crowds, as well as the one in the stadium, as a way of selling extra tickets and bringing fans together in huge numbers. As the technology that underpins VR improves, and internet bandwidth increases, virtual sporting experiences will become more common and will be just as social as the real thing.
The wide range of immersive social experiences available online allows you to travel virtually, and experience new people and places without the need to leave your home.
Online Multiplayer Experiences are Making Our World Smaller
Online gaming has exploded in the last decade or so, with more players enjoying massively multiplayer online games than ever before. Thanks to the increase in high-speed broadband internet coverage and the advances of home games consoles, more and more people are getting access to online game networks like Xbox Live and Steam.
Video games themselves have become more popular, and a part of mainstream culture and millions of people a day watch someone play a game on a service like Twitch rather than play a game themselves.
All these people are meeting one another in gaming chat rooms and lobbies and continuing these relationships on social media like Facebook and Reddit. This is making our world smaller by bringing us closer together, and by experiencing friendships with people from distant countries, you experience their culture and perspectives.
Virtual Reality Gaming is Bringing People Together Like Never Before
For decades, futurists and technology experts have been telling us that true virtual reality is just around the corner, and it finally seems as if the corner has been turned.
Huge advances have been made in this area in just the last few years, and the massive investment by Facebook in the VR company Oculus has spurred a wave of hardware and software development and introduced social media to the virtual reality space.
Through competitive gaming and shared social spaces, virtual reality is bringing people together from very distant places in a way the world has not seen before. Not only does this introduce you to new cultures and languages, but it also lets you make new friends who can take you through virtual tours of their country. There are hundreds of thousands of VR videos, and plenty of programs, that allow you to explore a real place. It feels like walking through a photograph or Google Street View, and your new online friends can give you a unique and informative walkthrough of their hometown or city. You can do the same and show them London or the Lake District, and you can also explore new places together!
Though nothing can beat the feeling of walking through a new city or visiting a new country in real life, the quality of Virtual Reality is constantly improving and already creates a lifelike experience. As VR and social media technology continue to develop, perhaps in the coming decades, it will be possible to take a holiday to a faraway destination without having to leave the security and comfort and of your own home.
