Do We Become What We Click?

In Aurecon’s latest Just Imagine blog, Stephen Cowling (Civil Engineer) argues that as the line between physical and digital gets increasingly blurred, we develop a third kind of presence – the consequences of our actions, digitally and physically. How do the behaviours and actions of our avatars impact the world?

Blog excerpt:
The Shed at Dulwich was the #1 restaurant in London back in November 2017. It was an appointment-only, generally exclusive and always fully-booked restaurant, according to its TripAdvisor profile. The fact that it was impossible to secure a reservation made it even more attractive and foodies kept calling from far and wide to see if they could be squeezed in. But here’s the catch: the restaurant didn’t exist.'

Freelance writer Oobah Butler’s idea of making an imaginary restaurant out of his backyard shed was the prank of the year. In a span of six months, The Shed’s fake website, fake yet Instagrammable food photos, and fake reviews, enabled it to become the top-rated restaurant in London, although nobody knew it didn’t have a physical presence. Oobah’s experiment presents us with a fascinating yet frightening realisation: almost everything is possible (or can be seemingly true) with the Internet and the line between physical and digital is increasingly blurred.

Where we were once merely attached to our technology, we have now become completely dependent on it in 2020 as our sole means of connection in most cases. For many people, seeing someone in the flesh has become a luxury. We’ve grown accustomed to each other’s pixel personas because we’ve had to. And we’ve learned to love them for all their circuitry idiosyncrasies. In land-rush style, entire offices, schools and communities stormed the web to eke out an online existence. Stakes now firmly planted in digital soil, the question begs, how do the behaviours and actions of our avatars impact the world?

This article was first published Aurecon’s Just Imagine blog. Just Imagine provides a glimpse into the future for curious readers, exploring ideas that are probable, possible and for the imagination. Subscribe here to get access to the latest blog posts as soon as they are published.

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