| It is safe to say that the modern man can no | | | | historic sites and taking a vacation in beaches and |
| longer live without computers. The comforts of | | | | exotic places can be made on virtual reality PCs. |
| modern living have made it increasingly | | | | You already have virtual video conferences |
| indispensable in getting things done right at home. | | | | participated by people around the world without |
| The kings, royalties and aristocrats of the 19th | | | | ever leaving their homes. Virtual interaction is now |
| century in all their pomp and circumstance are | | | | a new dimension to societal relationships. It is not |
| sure to envy the lowly housewife of the 21st | | | | surprising to see airlines suffer shrinking travel |
| century of the extent of sheer comfort and | | | | revenues when fewer people are taking business |
| convenience with which they get things done. So | | | | trips for overseas meetings, trade conferences |
| much so that in the future, no one needs to get | | | | and seminars. A computer on the internet makes |
| out of the house anymore. | | | | these travels redundant. |
| - Videos games from computer controlled games | | | | - Home entertainment using the immersive |
| consoles like the PS3, Wii and the Xbox as well as | | | | experience of 3D video and surround sound could |
| on the PCs have taken over the television as the | | | | not have been possible with analog technologies. |
| object of focus among couch potatoes. They are | | | | The digital revolution of the 90s with CDs and |
| more intuitive, interactive and their graphics is | | | | DVDs have opened the path for home |
| amazingly realistic and immersive thanks to the | | | | entertainment to where they are today, thanks in |
| high definition imaging and full surround sounds | | | | large measure to computers processing billions of |
| they produce courtesy of the powerful computer | | | | pixel and sound bits behind the home |
| processors in their hardware. Soon virtual reality | | | | entertainment appliance we now have. It can be |
| engines will take gaming to the next level that | | | | pretty much predictable with such an alluring form |
| makes staying at home even more compelling. | | | | of diversion that the tribe of couch potatoes will |
| - The internet is not just a gigantic library of | | | | increase. |
| information but has evolved into a virtual social | | | | Conclusion |
| landscape dotted with forums, blogs, communities, | | | | The future will find us inexorably home-bound. No |
| social networking sites, chat rooms and dating | | | | need to go out the house to visit the mall, as you |
| match-making services that some psychologist | | | | can shop and pay on the internet. No need to |
| have started airing alarms that the modern | | | | bring the family to the theater, as your 3D home |
| generation is losing touch with real friendships and | | | | video system does the job. No need to attend |
| interaction with the family. When kids start to | | | | get-togethers with friends as Facebook and |
| spend inordinate amounts of time on the internet | | | | Twitter sites do the same job. No need to play |
| chatting, uploading photos on social network sites | | | | baseball at the school gym since virtual gaming |
| and posting messages on forums more than | | | | does the job. No need to go to the office since |
| playing baseball or spending time with family | | | | you can do whatever you need to do in the |
| members, then you start to wonder if we are | | | | office at home. No need to take a vacation to |
| looking at a future with an entirely new set of | | | | the Bahamas or attend a conference in England |
| social values - one that is more virtual than real. | | | | as you can do a virtual tour and a virtual |
| - Just about anything can be virtualized these | | | | conference over the internet. In short, the future |
| days. With an increasing computing power | | | | is bright for social nerds who just need a chair |
| promised with nanotechnology, even visiting | | | | and a computer hooked to the internet. |