ABSTRACT
Editors’ introduction
The previous chapters describe utilitarian applications of HyperReality that are being worked on in some form or another, even if it is only in the laboratory. This penultimate chapter is more speculative. Given that HyperReality is possible then what would we like to do with it? It is an opportunity to rub the magic lamp of HR. The field that seems most appropriate for this question is leisure activities and the topic is broad enough to allow a general picture of life in an HR society. The closest most of us get to rubbing a magic lamp is a punt on the pools or a lottery ticket. If we win, all our dreams will be answered. Talking to a lottery researcher in Germany a few years ago, John Tiffin asked if there was any research that looked at the impact of a big win on the winners. Yes there was, but it was not something they wanted to broadcast. The bigger the win, the more likely the winner was to commit suicide, become an alcoholic, get divorced or have a mental breakdown. In consequence they had set up trauma teams to deal with winners as though they had had a bad accident. HR has a similar dark side in that it seems capable of catering to every self-indulgent dream. This chapter seeks to take account of this, while it also addresses the new leisured class – the elderly – and the benefits HR could bring to the future of ageing.
