Using Virtual Reality for Social Change

Virtual Reality (VR) is being used extensively in healthcare, entertainment, education, military training, and many other industries. Organizations are now implementing new ways to utilize the potential of VR technology. The immersive and interactive qualities of VR enable its users to transform into other human beings and walk a mile in their shoes. This allows organizations and content creators to use VR for social change. VR-based content like films and interactive experiences stimulate more genuine emotional responses compared to other media. Hence, there are several prospective applications of VR for social change.

How You Can Use VR for Social Change

The use cases of VR that can enable social change are mentioned below:

Generating Empathy

The immersive nature of VR environments allows users to feel like they are really transported to a new world. This quality of VR can be used to generate empathy among users. The United Nations had made a VR film called Clouds Over Sidra that tells the story of a 12-year-old girl in the Za’atari Refugee Camp. The United Nations decided to make the film in VR to offer a new perspective on the lives of refugees and generate more empathy. Immersive experiences like this can improve public awareness and prompt social change.

Reducing Racial Bias

VR can help in reducing racial bias using immersive videos and apps. For instance, the movie 1000 Cut Journey, created by Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab and Courtney Cogburn, puts a user in the body of a Black man who faces racism at several stages in his life. Premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, the movie was made specifically to help people understand the impact of structural racism. Although a VR experience cannot singlehandedly eliminate racism, it can help in creating a new perspective about race among its users. Similar VR experiences can help in combating sexism and ableism. Businesses can also create VR films and apps to reduce instances of racism and sexism in the workplace.

Offering Virtual Therapy

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 280 million people across the globe suffer from depression. Mental health disorders like depression have become even worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in many parts of the world. In these trying times, teletherapy has been the only option for people suffering from mental health issues. Therapists can enhance the quality of remote therapy using VR.

Therapists can use VR to offer exposure therapy to treat various mental illnesses. Medical institutions can design immersive environments for VR therapy. For instance, people who suffer from social anxiety can be exposed to a party full of strangers. Patients can be taught relaxation strategies to cope with situations that trigger anxiety. Likewise, doctors are using VR-powered therapy to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The potential of VR for social change will continue to grow as more creators and organizations start working together. We can also expect to see VR become an integral part of journalism, which will enable viewers to get a 360-degree perspective of broadcast news. As an extension of our reality, VR will soon be used to create mass awareness about humanitarian crises, climate change, political unrest and more.