Counselors, police officers and teachers, among others, could be placed in virtual reality to test how well they perform in simulated work situations. We are only at the beginning of the possibilities and ethical dilemmas posed by virtual reality. This technological advance could be used to allow a person to indulge in norm defying or even criminal fantasies. Indeed, in the 1990's, computer software was available that allowed users to engage in risky and demeaning activities. Amid all the discussion about the wonders of the new electronic networks, some social questions remain.
Initial observations suggest that many stereotypes persist.
Amy Bruckman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has monitored gender roles on the Internet. She has observed that women are often treated as helpless. When Bruckman logs on under different names or guises as part of her experiments at the Media Lab as a woman, male network users offer her technical assistance and then ask for sexual favors in return. She reports that once when she rejected a man's flirtations, she was accused of being a male in disguise. Albert Einstein b. Charles Darwin c.