Wooley Summary

In Chapter 6 of Benjamin Wooley's Virtual Worlds A Journey in Hyper and Hyperreality, he examines how cyberspace has become another reality, one that mimics our own world yet has a life of it's own as well. For example, it mimics our own reality through the development of global villages which have developed through electronic networks in cyberspace, and which allow information to be freely transmitted across the globe negating the effects of distance. However, just as in the real world, devastating viruses can develop which can destroy this global community, causing businesses to be affected and in some instances global commerce to be brought to a grinding halt. This disrupts not only the cyber world but the real world as well. Lastly, Wooley states how cyberspace has changed the world we live in by making information a commodity that has not only changed the way people interact and businesses work, but sprouted entire industries such as the telecommunications industry. In conclusion, Wooley shows us how cyberspace is not only a virtual world but a very real world as well, one that affects real people in very real ways.