That VR future idea sounds horrifying to me. I want to know the genuine person, not fakery. It just ruins the point of any relationship for me...which is to share experience, honestly, vulnerability. If it all becomes a performance then why do we even need people? Just some AI pretending to be some character is good enough.
While I agree with you, I don't know why exactly I agree you. Allow me to explain. The "real you," the "genuine" you, is nothing more than some random, arbitrary (for the most part) stuff you got from genes and the environment surrounding you (as in, it's effect on you) and, to usually a lesser extent, some of the life choices you've made. Now, it is you in the sense that you've lived with it for your whole life (some could say, put up with it, depending on your luck of the draw and what you think//how you feel about it).
I think the real you is really your mind. Our minds are so special, and on such a higher level, that the physical manifestation is very simplistic in comparison. To illustrate: we seem to look down on those who do as this woman did, but if someone was, say, a burn victim with 1st-degree burns all over their body including the face, we wouldn't think twice about using technology to improve their lives this way (btw, anyone know if this used in any such capacity?).
I'm providing some food for thought as I am challenging my own initial knee-jerk reaction which is "this is horrible, what have we become?" If there's one thing I learned about human behavior, it is that there is usually a whole lot more than what meets they eye (pun semi-intended) going on.
I understand. Our mind is "us" and not something we can really let anyone else see. I guess I believe that some people live more in genuine sync with who they are, which can be done in a functional way that still allows you to exist in society, and some are wearing mask over mask over mask in order to manipulate the system or people. It sounds exhausting to me and makes it hard to trust people.
About the burn victim example, I wouldn't feel "normal" hiding my scars no matter how severe. I don't feel using tech to hide scars or alter appearance is an improvement. It speaks poorly to society that people think they NEED to to fit in or not be discriminated against. It's up to us to treat each other with respect despite such things, not up to the person with those issues to hide them to blend in...in my idealistic view I mean. I know that's not how it works...sadly.
Mot actually possible, since we all wear masks, depending on who we’re around. In the office, I am different from when I’m remote, which is different from when I hang out with my RPG buddies, which is different from my church face, etc.
There’s a different drivingmenuts for many occasions, but they are all me. Just different me’s.
This is normal for everyone.
The one thing I don’t do is mask up to defraud people knowingly.
