Manipulating Reality and Time

      It’s no secret that technology is becoming more integrated into our lives. No longer universally considered a privilege, it is beginning to be considered a necessity. Countries or populations without the means to acquire technology are often aware of that fact. Many Nations like the US are saturated in cell phones and computers for adults and kids alike. There is more wearable technology and intelligent household devices being developed, further infiltrating even our most intimate spaces and moments. While Ready Player One is not a story written about our current reality, it is a projection of our future. As time progresses, our conception of reality has begun to change. Technology has allowed for a different version of reality to grow in our conscience. Video games are a different world for us to project ourselves much the same way as social media provides a similar detachment from our true selves.
Once in the OASIS, Wade is allowed to be someone completely different from himself. In the real world, he lives in extremely cramped and impoverished conditions. He has no powerful parenting figures and his education is one characterized primarily by humiliation. The OASIS cannot eliminate the existence of the real world, but it mutes it and creates a new one. This is exactly the same function as Social media sites and online gaming. Just as he can block his bullies at school, users can block other users they don't like online. Just as Wade can socialize and share his adventures superficially, we do the same on Facebook or Instagram.
As a student soon graduating from college in the US, I have been part of and bore witness of the effect of technology on my generation. While the world of Ready Player One will most likely not mirror our own by 2045, I fear that there will be some similarities. Video games, virtual reality, social media and technological outlets alike are only going to grow exponentially in the coming years. The disconnect amongst human beings and reality will also most likely grow an even greater divide if nothing is done to help humanity grow with technology in the right way. Superficiality has always existed, but we’ve never had the same kinds of opportunities to indulge ourselves.