Reality Bytes/ New online sites are making face-to-face interaction

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 9, 2003 | by ROBIN A. ROTHMAN

Kurt Vonnegut once wrote in "Player Piano," "Those who live by electronics die by electronics."

But with temperatures in Colorado Springs dropping and days getting shorter, it just might be electronics that'll save us . . . at least from the cold.

Imagine spending a whole winter in pajamas at home without quitting your job and becoming a total recluse. It's no fairy tale. It's more like . . . cybernating.

The way we live, date, shop, learn and communicate has changed as technology has advanced. In the modern age, it's not only possible to accomplish almost anything armed only with Internet access and the right URLs, it's commonplace.

But computers have changed more than just the way we work and play. They've changed the way we exist. They've spawned an online lifestyle.

This isn't just lazy, geeky behavior. In fact, it might actually be good for us.

"By integrating our online and offline lifestyles, we have the opportunity to bring the best of both worlds together to enrich who we are," says John Suler, a Websavvy psychology professor at Rider University in Princeton, N.J., with an avid Internet interest and a lengthy academic hypertext book, "The Psychology of Cyberspace" (www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/psycyber.html).

In some ways, computers are an invaluable convenience we've come to rely on. But in other ways, they might be a cop-out, allowing us to replace our real-life, everyday activities with simulations that don't require real, interactive commitments.

Maybe that Vonnegut fella was onto something.

Whatever you think of them, here's a look at some "online lifestyle" options:

WEB WAKES

Sometimes it isn't possible to attend the funeral of a loved one. Death can be sudden, right? Work can be hectic. Airfares can be outrageous.

But in this modern age, excuses won't fly anymore. Now when friends and family of the deceased can't make it in person, they can e-mourn.

Armed with Web cameras and high-speed technology, companies such as Online-Funeral (www.online-funeral.com) provide funeral homes with the means to take services high tech. Cameras positioned in visitation rooms broadcast the viewing in real-time so the bereaved can be there in more than just spirit.

Families opting for online services get a Web site that can show video from the cemetery, online photo albums, an online obituary and a "message center" to collect condolences.

SCROLLY MATRIMONY

Just when Vegas weddings seemed like the least tasteful way to declare your undying love, along comes the virtual wedding.

For $25 and 15 minutes at www.cyberweddingchapel.com, lucky cyber- couples can set a date and time and invite friends to attend the e- nuptials.

The ceremony and reception take place in a chat room with "special wedding music," speeches from the best man and maid of honor and bouquet and garter tosses. The newly-e-weds receive a "realistic" certificate and attendees get thank-you cards. Afterward, guests can chat in the reception room.

For the impatient and cash strapped, www.livewed.com offers a quick fix for the urgency of wedded bliss. The ceremony ("Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here to join together this woman and this man in virtual matrimony which is an honorable estate . . .") requires that the information all be entered from one computer. (So, theoretically, one could marry himself or herself.) After typing in the vows, a screen pops up certifying the blessed event.

Of course, neither ceremony is legally binding.

Note: I'm pleased to announce that I am no longer "bound" to myself "by virtual matrimony." Thank goodness LiveWED offers a quickie divorce, too. I felt so trapped.

VIRTUAL NURTURING

Virtual companionship is not limited to human relationships. Those who long for the responsibilities of, say, growing a plant without the risk of watching it wither or caring for an animal without any of that pesky physical affection can turn to the Internet.

Starting small and simple, urban gardening site www.windowbox.com offers the Plant Game. The player registers, names a plant and is charged with seeding, watering, fertilizing and sunning it for 16 days until it blooms or, well . . . Think positive.

Likewise, adopting a cyber pet at www.virtualdog.com is just a game. The player is expected to feed the dog twice a day, walk it once a day, pay fines for failing to poop-scoop, teach it to fetch or swim and earn money to buy toys, supplies and food.

Meanwhile, at www.virtualpuppy.com and www.virtualkitty.com, there's nothing to lose except precious hours of the day, which are spent cuddling, feeding and playing with a pencil-drawn pet.

At www.neopets.com, reality is completely abandoned. According to the site, more than 60 million Neopians play online games, earn Neo Point money, buy stuff for their cartoonish creatures and travel to strange places.

In the bazaar, neo-owners visit the wizard's shop, an alien vending machine or a health food store.

Note: My virtual Jack Russell terrier, Atomic, knows how to fetch, but can't swim. My virtual kitty, Fuzzball, enjoys cuddling, not playing with the pipe cleaner. Cmondo, my monkey-like Mynci, has a wooden blocking shield to protect him. When I read to him, he said (Neopets can talk) the book was too easy.