Everyone talks about how the internet allows people to share experiences. But how do you define shared experience? Does that mean asynchronous, say with comments on a YouTube video? Or does it mean synchronous in how avatars watch a movie in a virtual world?  Synchronous experiences may be one of the defining features of virtual worlds. Which bodes well for virtual worlds as according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which highlights how the internet brings the family together unlike the television for earlier generations.

They don’t just withdraw from the family to their own computer for private screen time. They pretty regularly say, ‘Hey–look at this!’ to others in the household.

Not only are they turning to the internet for entertainment over television, they seem to be doing so in a social way – shared experiences. If virtual worlds are all about entertainment, and more specifically shared entertainment the future should be bright.