When VR is AR: Family Style

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When VR is AR: Family Style

May 17, 2006 by Jim Parker in family, future, technology

(or when virtual reality becomes actual reality)

I had a conversation with a close body a couple of weeks ago about how Virtual Reality (VR) will enhance the family experience. His argument was “Why would anybody want to spend any time in an area that just wasn’t real? I’d rather have real life than a made up fantasy land.” Which is a very well made point.

Yet, I believe otherwise. I asked: “When you go see a movie in the movie theatre, how much of that 2 hours do you actually spend communicating with your family?”. Continuing with, “Most families I see at the movie theatre are very quietly, politely sitting in submission to the big screen.” “Is that what you call real?”, I asked.

Instead, my vision of what’s really real is when a family meets in VR on a Friday night from 6pm until 8pm every week.

The Son, living in New York, the sister in Chicago, the parents in St. Louis, and everyone comes together for some family activity once a week. Exploring the Taj Mahal this week, Grand Canyon next week, the Florida Keys the week after that - all virtually, but all together. Making ripples back and forth on the pools of the Taj Mahal, standing at the edge of The Canyon, wind blowing everyone’s hair as we watch a beautiful sunset, or taking a couple of jet skis weaving in and out of dangerous coral areas…But never life threateningly dangerous…and all of this I share real-time with my family.

What could possibly be more real than that?