04. Telepresence and Communication

Communication

Unlike ANY other communication tool we have, VR enables us to be in the space and do things with multiple people, like we could as if we were in the same room. This could be anything from scuba diving to simply drawing with one another. To check out some of the cool things Facebook is trying to work on, watch this video from Oculus Connect 3, where Mark Zuckerberg demos their social initiative.

VR Trolling

And while VR can enable some AMAZING interactions with your friends, it also has some of the same problems that the real world and internet have, but a lot worse. We are already starting to see problems with harassment and trolling in some social VR experiences. To get a sense of the problems, read these articles:

1. My First Virtual Reality Groping
2. Even In A Virtual World, The Harsh Reality Of Sexual Harassment Persists

There is definitely a fine line when it comes allowing multiple people to interact with one another as everyone loves high fives and hugs, but making anyone feel uncomfortable or worse violated is something we as VR developers need to avoid.

QUESTION:

It's definitely important to join the discussion on topics like this, so think about what features you could include to keep your users safe in your experiences?