Augmented Reality Applications in Hand-held Devices in the Light of Baudrillard’s “simulacra and Simulation”

Baudrillard is one of postmodernist theorists that criticize the unreality of the culture which we live in. He suggests that human interactions with virtual reality media and unreal technologies, achieve nothing; He even fears that society will fall prey to these media subjectivity. The virtual reality media capability to produce simulated reality could mislead society into voluntary detachment with the real world. The latest development in virtual technology has made it available within the consumer market in the form of augmented reality application. An application based on a concept that merges virtual data within the physical environment, a different approach compared to common virtual reality technology where user is immersed within a virtual environment. Instead of detachment, augmented reality offers attachment with reality. While it is still too early to study augmented reality technology‟s impact on society, a study on Baudrillard‟s critiques will nevertheless gives a valuable insight on how designers could make use of augmented reality technology to shape society with a sense of consciousness of the real world.