Future Presence: How Virtual Reality Is Changing Human Connection, Intimacy and the Limits of Ordinary Life by Peter Rubin
By: Sally Lee
Tags: VR, Human Interaction, Virtual Reality, Books, Reflections

Future Presence by Peter Rubin

Thoughts on Future Presence

Prior to reading this book about Virtual Reality, I did not have too much knowledge on its’ potential — frankly, I was only aware of its’ popularity in the gaming industry and maybe some knowledge on Augmented Reality for cool features that already exist on our phones or apps. The author of this book, Peter Rubin claims that what VR is capable of providing for humans as of right now is just the start. While reading the chapters, I couldn’t help but think about episodes of the Black Mirror show on Netflix where all the characters are so immersed with technology that a lot of them even lose their perception of what is actually real and negatively impacts their daily lives. Currently, it may be difficult to see how VR will be widely used and often in the future but Rubins’ point about the technological hurdles that are causing people to take a step back from using it every day will advance eventually — I also think we, humans will learn how to adapt to difficulties like the simulator sickness. However, I do believe it’s crucial for VR to be accessible to everyone in order for it to become a new form of technology that all humans can use. Throughout the book, Rubin often to the experience of VR for humans “presence” “intimacy” and “empathy”. One of the most interesting elements about VR is the sense of empathy that the user is able to have in a setting set up on VR. As the whole environment changes, it affects the users' emotions enormously and even has an impact on the human brain treating this as a memory that is being created while experiencing. I think it’s fascinating how it could affect our minds to an extent that our brains will remember or think of it as real memories. It’s fascinating if used correctly and ethically, but it is also a little scary for me — consequences if some don’t use it for the wrong reasons, it could potentially create a real-like experience that could cause bad habits or behavior. Another interesting point that Rubin brings up about intimacy is creating online friendship where it allows users to be more confident and experience less social anxiety (which I don’t agree with 100% because I do think it’s fairly common to feel awkward when interacting online). I agree with how it could be more expressive than chatting online through messages but at the same time I do still think, there is limited extent to how much the user can show and express and interact because it is online. VR certainly is a step closer to a real interaction than a screen interaction, but I think I would still be a little concerned about authenticity and genuinity. After being familiar with VR after taking this course, my perspective on VR has shifted and I am definitely more open-minded about it becoming a bigger part of humans' lives. VR has great potential that exceeds what it is’ capable of providing to humans, and as a designer, I think it’s exciting to see new technology and media being accessible for people. As exciting it is, I think there are some improvements that could be made for the existing experiences and devices. I think it’s an important wake-up call for the existing VR experience designers to consider: If VR is advancing and expanding to a greater audience, is this accessible to everyone — and I mean e v e r y o n e.