I was at a meeting the other day having a discussion about the media habits of teenagers. One of the participants said that he really does not understand why someone would pay real money for virtual furniture, a la Habbo Hotel. I tried to explain that teenagers do not think of online and offline as separate entities. For them, it is just another way to interact with friends. For them virtual is as real as anything else, hence they have no problems with buying a virtual chair.

The odd thing about this is that we currently use quite a few things that only have virtual value to us. No one is buying a book for the paper and ink used to make it. The value of a book is in the information, ideas and emotions that we get from reading the book. The value of a calendar is not in the materials it is made of. It is valuable because it helps you keep appointments and organize your schedule. What about art? Music? And still it seems very hard for some people to get over the fact that something that is “virtual” could be worth paying for.

One could argue that all objects have both a physical and a virtual value. Like the clothes you are wearing. The physical value of them is that they protect you from the elements. The virtual value of clothing is in how they make you and others feel. Comfortable? Underdressed or overdressed? Cute? Professional?

Walls have a physical and a virtual value. They keep the warmth inside and hold the roof up. The virtual value is in how they affect the decor of a room.

The virtual property of the physical objects around us will be the first one move into the digital realm. Photographs and music are good examples of things that have none or very little physical value so they are already mostly digital.

Next in the digital domain will be the functional properties. We already have smart glass which changes from opaque to transparent when an electrical current is applied. So it is just a matter of time when the first walls with digital wallpaper will appear. How about clothing that adjusts itself depending on the temperature? Oh, we sort of have that too…

I’m sure there are many things that will happen as a result of all this but here are three questions that come to mind:

1. What will be the new ways to interact with content when every surface can be a display?
2. Will this finally bring us to a situation where the objects themselves are the interface, thus making technology effectively disappear?
3. Will the possibility to digitally manipulate what an object looks like and what it does have a positive effect on our impact on the environment?