I'm just going to step out there and claim yes...it is! (I hear all your roars of support)...but stay with me if you will. I'm not giving insight to a brand new idea. I often consider myself very common, therefore, I can concede that someone - maybe even many - have also considered or written about this very same subject.
I began this post to make a point that the two (virtual and real) are often synonymous for one reason. But as I continue to type I realize a second reason and perhaps that second reason is more relevant than the first.
So stretch your brains backward with me if you will and let's approach the second reason before the first.
2. We are in a technology age where most of what the 18-24 demographic is use to is a virtual world. In most cases their abductor pollicis brevis/longus, first dorsal interosseous and flexor policis brevis (thumb muscles) are the most powerful muscles in their entire body. Next, are probably the other hand digits followed by the eye muscles. Why? Because instead of owning an impressive collection of HotWheel cars, there exists a bigger thrill in the Grand Theft Auto video game. There is no longer a profitable market for paper dolls when you can go online and dress a virtual doll from head-to-toe and to boot (no pun intended) all you really have to do is earn enough points and you can build a dreamhouse, a swimming pool/spa and refurnish and change the decor as many times per year as you have the credits to do so. The more you play, the more you earn.
There's probably little to nothing in the real world that the average Joe could not do better and more conveniently in the virtual world. And since it is likely that the 18-24 age group spends more time in the virtual world than in what is real...their virtuality is most often their reality. Let's face it, the real world is losing ground faster than MySpace fell to Facebook.
Growing up, for me, if I were bored and had a deck of cards, a game (or five) of solitaire was convenient and kept me out of trouble. Trying to play solitaire today with a real deck of cards is now clunky and cumbersome even for me and I'm certainly beyond the 18-24 demographic.
1. Some things never had a common existence in the real world but are very much present and persistent in the virtual world. Let's take for example a thumbnail image. Most layman (or women) were not familiar with the term of thumbnail beyond it's anatomical context. Prior to general exposure to Windows, Mac or the Internet, a thumbnail in the context of small only made sense in conversations between artists, photographers and journalists. So in fact, the popular concept of thumbnail as a small image only has origins in the virtual world and so for those of us now familiar with the term...it has become our real world experience.
So then, as practitioners, how do we, or even better, should we match something that has little to no real existence against a virtual existence? I claim an emphatic Yes again. Because the line between real and virtual are sometimes so thin it is reasonable that the virtual world is the real world and so virtuality must be measured against the historical existence of the thing being measured.
Using the thumbnail example again. Perhaps what should be considered is the attributes of the thumbnail. What are the minimum and maximums of what is commonly considered a thumbnail? If the image size is so much that there is really no reason to desire a larger image, then perhaps that image is not in the realm of thumbnail size.
Additionally, an interface that does not offer a means to acquire a larger view of the image, may not be considered a thumbnail, just a very small picture. So in that case, to compare two images of similar size and only one has the capability to expand the view then the match between the system and the real world principle has not been met.
In summary, it is possible to still abide by the 'match between system and real world' heuristic principle of Jakob Nielsen. Our challenge, as practitioners is only in the reasonable divisions between what is real and what is virtual. Consider the audience and the history of a thing. If it is more likely that the thing has less history in the real world then it's virtual existence becomes it's real existence.
