Virtual reality has a major image problem.
I see it whenever I read an article about someone’s grandparents experiencing virtual reality for the first time, accompanied by a photo like this:
Which inevitably makes me think of this:
Or when I visit a VR website and am greeted by this:
Or when I do a Google search for virtual reality, and these images pop up on my screen:
Do you see the problem? It’s simple:
- Headsets that obscure your face look dehumanizing.
- People looking at headsets look antisocial.
- Seeing people enjoying something I cannot enjoy is alienating.