Virtual Reality News

Virtual reality news is a very interesting revelation and proposal. In a time when technology is pushing the boundaries, this concept comes as a refreshing idea that can help news stay relevant in the social media world. Newspapers are losing their strong grip that they had, although that is to say they aren’t going away forever. The majority of people still get their news from their television during the morning and evening segments. By adding virtual reality to the process, you now have a new perspective you can bring to the news.

This added dimension can have a far more powerful effect to certain news stories. Personally there are times when I see a story that upsets me but after it’s all over that feeling starts to immediately subside until it finally disappears. By immersing someone into the story itself and have them experience it from a first person view, there’s a chance that the story sticks long enough with you that you actually try and do something to help better whatever the situation might be. There’s also the added benefit of introducing more information to a story through the visuals that words could not portray.

Of course there is a negative side to introducing these methods. As the speaker in the Ted Talks presentation mentioned, the story has to be socially responsible and must be done by whoever does the story themselves. There is a risk of trying to manipulate the audience through false information in order to further certain agendas. Another negative could be the added costs of owning virtual reality equipment. If there is a news story that says you can learn more through their VR portion some audiences will be left out in the cold and not fully know the whole story.

The VR concept to me seems like it could be a great idea but it would have to go through numerous trials in order to find the right balance. Just like other technologies that were first introduced, the first iterations will have unforeseen flaws. Laws would have to also be made in order to responsibly point out what is legal and illegal in the virtual reality world.