It never ceases to amaze me how much things have changed since I was a child. As a kid, I vividly remember sitting on the floor very close to the front of the TV (black and white), which was about 24 to 28 inches and had four wooden support legs. Every time I got near the screen, my Uncle Eddie or my dad would pull me away and admonish me not to sit too close. They would always warn me that I was ruining my eyesight and that I would end up wearing glasses. Voila!—I have been wearing glasses full-time since I was seven years old. Fortunately, within a few years, we upgraded to a larger (color) TV set that was housed in a sizable piece of furniture that looked like a cabinet. Thus, the need for me to sit six inches away was obviated.

As we all know, TVs are no longer made of cathode-ray tubes. They are now made of either LCD, Plasma , OLED, or QLED, and are flat screens that can be purchased in sizes as large as 120 inches. Frankly, the dimensions of these flat screens and the clarity with which they transmit programs is astounding. When watching a football game, I often feel like I am on the field and part of the action. If you look closely, you can even see the beads of sweat on the players’ foreheads and little specs of the rubberized artificial turf being kicked up when a player is running. On one occasion, I was so caught up in the game that I found myself running toward the flat screen in an attempt to tackle the Quarterback of the team playing against the Giants. Unfortunately, and just like many Giants, I overran the Quarterback and ended up grasping at air. At no time did that ever happen when watching a game on a TV that used a cathode-ray tube.

Well, as if things are not realistic enough when watching a movie or a sporting event on a digitally transmitted 120-inch flat screen, you can now enhance the experience by purchasing artificial reality or virtual reality glasses that will give you the sensation of being on the football or baseball field, on the stage at a concert, or courtside at a basketball game. God only knows how I would react while sitting courtside at a Knicks game while wearing virtual reality glasses—in a moment of excitement, I could lose my mind and find myself trying to hug Spike Lee!

The major concern I have with anything that creates a virtual reality is that, while it may enhance the entertainment value of the concert, movie, or sporting event I am watching at home, the day may come that the quality of the virtual experience is so good that it won’t be necessary to personally attend the event. If the virtual reality gets so close to the real thing that it is a sufficiently adequate substitute, why go anywhere at all? Why should I travel, fight crowds, plus pay for parking to go to the Yankee Stadium when I can replicate the experience in the comfort of my own home—sit on the couch with a beer, pretzel, and my baseball glove for foul balls hit in my vicinity

Just imagine how many events we may soon be able to substitute virtually. Of course, the one exception would be the nutritional value and enjoyment of food. I am confident that the smell sensation of a large steaming plate of spaghetti with meatballs can’t be replicated virtually.

Anthony J. Enea, Esq., is the managing attorney of Enea, Scanlan and Sirignano, LLP of White Plains, New York. He focuses his practice on Wills, Trusts, Estates and Elder Law. Anthony is the Past Chair of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) and is the past Chair of the 50+ Section of the NYSBA. He is a Past President and Founding member of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Anthony is also a Past President of the Westchester County Bar Foundation and a Past President of the Westchester County Bar Association. He is also fluent in Italian. He can be reached at (914) 948-1500 or at a.enea@esslawfirm.com

Please note that any opinions expressed in the articles contained herein are solely those of the author(s) and do not constitute positions taken by the WCBA.