Virtual Reality, Actual Benefits for Older Adults
This week, the class took an out-of-reality trip to travel the world through virtual reality (vr) at the House of VR.
VR provides a lot of novel elements that are very exciting when one is initially exposed. I have been wanting to try out VR for a while now, so the opportunity to do it for the class seemed like a perfect fit. When it was first decided that we would be heading there in a few weeks, my initial thoughts were that it would be something similar to that seen in this 2017 BBC news story.
As the video demonstrates, VR allowed for participants to use communication to work as a team in manning a spaceship in the Star Trek universe. The video presents VR as something novel, fun and first and foremost, simply a game. My initial impression of VR was therefore skewed, viewing the technology for gaming primarily, and beyond that, for team-building exercises for a work unit perhaps, at best.
While the House of VR have more novel games like those seen in the video, the class was exposed to the potential of other, more mature applications, like Google Earth VR.
Implementing virtual reality into public policy is something that is now being discussed. And while it may not apply to all aspects, I discovered its true potential when I was virtually travelling to the corners of the world with Google Earth. While I am sure there is no replacement for the real Yosemite Mountain and while there was the slight learning curve to understanding the controls of traveling in both space and time, it provided great stress relief to leave the confines of a busy Toronto street and travel to all corners of the globe, even just for a few minutes. For this, I believe VR has potential.
Upon reflection, the policy application that stuck with me was from my previous research in developmental psychology of older adults at the Laboratory for Aging and Health Research. It has been shown that older adult who engage in physical activity have improved happiness, health and life longevity. As the healthcare system is poised to become more and more burdened by an expanding aging population, it is imperative that we seek alternatives to allow older adults to take control and be more active, even if it involves only small, everyday physical movements such as gardening. By allowing older adults to travel the globe (even just virtually), walk around and re-explore past or new experiences for brief moments throughout the day or week, we may directly improve their health and well-being.
VR is not the be-all-end-all for improving everything; After all, many applications are still simply video games. But, it does have policy potential and we should be open to exploring that potential.
