It seems the age of technology is so prevalant even our police force feel the need to get involved.
An article released by the BBC in 2007, speaks of a 'virtual theft' that occurred online which led to a real life arrest. The article discusses how a 17 year old stole 4,000Euros worth of virtual furniture on the site Habbo to refurnish his own online environment. The reason this theft was punishable by "real-life" laws is because the items purchased on this online community were bought with real money.
This particular article mirrors many of the topics discussed in this week's tute. How far is too far online, and what act's should or will result in real life punishment? In this case it seems the difference that lead to an arrest, as opposed to Mr Bungle's escape, is the fact that physical entities were involved (money.) It seems damage that can be labelled objectively (such as financial damage as opposed to psychological damage) is the key.
Although I find it an absurd thought to invest money into virtual environments (or at least a virtual product I can not hold, wear, or physically experience - I guess that last point can be debated,) it was the ending of this article that really shocked and appalled me. Apparently a man in China was murdered for the theft of an online virtual object. This vicious crime is a wonderful example of how involved people can become in an online world. I would hate to judge online-gamers or condemn the virtual world that offers them so much joy, but it has to be said that in some cases extreme involvement with online communities can be unhealthy. The examples given in this story make one point very clear to me: we are very much a Cyborg Race.
I completely agree with you! We certainly are a cyborg race. This article was so interesting, I personally never knew how much people invested themselves online, especially when it involves such large amounts of money! Reading this article has really opened my eyes and my mind to how technology is taking over, and how, what we think is the real world, is literally becoming consumed by the world of technological advancements.
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