Table of Contents
Discussion
The typical life of an average person is characterized by a number of developmental milestones. Our journey to the attainment of these milestones constitutes our life’s story line. Based on this one story line that I would have added to My Virtual Life (MVL) so as to make it more reflective of everyday life is the inclusion of a quest for self discovery. Self discovery is usually described as the process through which one acquires insight into his or her own character (Cohen, & Sherman, 2014). The acquisition of these insights helps the person to better make decisions and develop a better understanding of who they are and what they stand for.
To better enhance the My Virtual Life program, it is essential to incorporate a quest for self discovery in which the character goes through different developmental stages and challenges as they seek to discover themselves and develop a sense of being. Doing this will serve to develop a more comprehensive and in depth social life in the virtual life program as a person’s personalities is greatly influenced by his or her social life (Cohen, & Sherman, 2014). Numerous studies have revealed that the society we are in plays a major role in shaping ones personality as he/she grows (Cohen, & Sherman, 2014). Individuals who are in supportive societies are better equipped to develop a well rounded and string personality than those who are in unsupportive environments.
By incorporating a quest for self identity into the program, one helps to make the program more reflective of typical human life as the different programs that we engage in our day to day activities serve to help us develop our personalities. This is seen in the fact that individuals who spend a lot of time undertaking humanitarian duties usually have a caring personality as they get the opportunity to learn about the importance of their humanitarian efforts and witness the impacts these efforts have on human life.
This was also reflected in a study which revealed that most people who seek careers in health care usually have a caring personality which unconsciously determines their career choices. The incorporation of a self identity story line will also help to make the story more involving as it will provide for the introduction of other characters in the program and establishment of interaction between the characters in the program thus serving to make the program more reflective of real life.
To further enhance the MY Virtual Life program one would incorporate different communication structures to demonstrate the different forms of relationship that exists between the main character and other characters in the program. Communication is integral for typical life as it enables people to express themselves which in turn serves to develop and make clear the role of the character in the program. The way we communicate serves to indicate our position in society.
When communicating with a person who is higher up in the social structure people usually tend to communicate in a manner that is more respective. The incorporation of communication structures will help to make the program more reflective of social setting and the different hierarchies that exist in a typical social relationship. For example, the relationship between husband and wife, and parent and child. The communication will also help in mapping out the characters growth due to the fact that as a person grows the way he/she communicates with those individuals in his surrounding changes.
There exists a number of coping strategies that one can utilized to effectively increase the efficiency and quality of the program. One of the most effective coping strategies to utilize is the problem-focused strategy. The strategy is based on first identifying the problem and based on the problem developing an effective solution from the problem. By utilizing the strategy one is able to ensure that the solution developed effectively covers the problem at hand and in doing so reduces the risk of the problem affecting the effectiveness of the program.
Another coping strategy that can be utilized in solving the problem at hand is the use of appraisal focused strategies which are primarily directed towards changing a person’s assumptions. This occurs when a person is able to modify the way other people perceive things (Folkman, 2013). This strategy is effective because of the incorporation of social life in the program as ones social life is a major determinant of the way he/she perceives things (Folkman, 2013). Due to the impact that our society has o the way we behave, it has the capacity to influence how we perceive life.
We can do it today.
- Folkman, S. (2013). Stress: appraisal and coping (pp. 1913-1915). Springer New York.
- Cohen, G. L., & Sherman, D. K. (2014). The psychology of change: Self-affirmation and social psychological intervention. Annual review of psychology, 65, 333-371.