VR vs other Media

 Do you believe there is a way that VR can be used to foster a greater degree of empathy than other media? How might it be done?

 On the one hand, the use of VR technology in Education has been proved more effective than traditional and online, educational methods. Science’s professors at CERN, in conjunction with Stanford University, after they realized that science classes were bored, ineffective and expensive, created a science VR laboratory simulator. This experiment shows that students, who participated in VR classrooms, learned 76% more and quickly than students using another educational method.

Additionally, VR is a great tool for the assessment, training, and treatment in neuroscience medicine. It also has been used for the treatment of PTSD and others psychological disorders, a good example of that is the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies Med VR Lab, which was created to the study and advancement of VR simulation technology for clinical purposes.

On the other hand, the access to VR technology is restricted to the developed world, where, most people have access to cellphones or tablets. The fact that VR advances are carried out by private corporations, like google, strengthen the idea of a media restricted to a specific population or region. In some areas of the world, where people don’t have access to basic needs or cannot afford technology, the use of VR seems unrealistic.

In conclusion, the fact that VR is an immersive, body, sensorial experience, is not evidence that can push social-changes further than another media. The thoughtful, skillful use of VR can help to better understand collective, social issues, for example, the Syrian refugee crisis or global warming. However, it cannot alter greedy, selfish, discriminatory inner-selves. The re-surging of nationalistic, neo-fascist ideas on developed countries, exemplifies this idea.