When considering the future of VR, a common reaction is to recoil at the prospect of virtual experiences replacing physical ones. Our mind goes to dystopian visions of people logging into the Matrix — and abandoning the world we know.
This is a natural reaction, and a reasonable one. There are many reasons to guard against a future where we lose touch with the physical world.
I find it helpful to orient primarily around relationships. We know that the quality of our lives is correlated to the quality of our relationships. So how can we elevate the quality of our relationships, and what tools can help?
The written letter, phone, and video are all communication tools that help us to connect with each other when geography holds us apart. And each new communication tool has been an attempt to add elements of in-person experiences to long-distance interactions:
The telegraph brought real-time
The phone brought real-time + audio
Video brought real-time + audio + visuals
Now, VR adds a shared space. VR is the latest in a long line of communication tools, adding another element of in-person experiences to long-distance interactions.
A shared space is significant because previous communication tools allowed us to only talk together. When you have a shared space, you can talk together and do activities together. You can probably think of someone with whom you’ve lost touch because they moved away and your relationship centered around a shared activity. Shared activities are a major way that we form and deepen any relationship, and VR removes distance as a barrier.
Previous communication tools have not eliminated our desire for in-person interactions — they’ve increased the volume of our communications and complemented in-person experiences. We can expect the VR to have a similar impact in the coming years.
beautiful reflection! we need to stop worrying about tech replacing but enhancing