Author: Alice Bonasio / Source: The Next Web
As the late screenwriting legend William Goldman famously said; “nobody knows anything” so predictions – especially about technology – always run the risk of making people look silly in the not-so-distant-future.
That said, I’m going to go out on a limb and say in the next few years we’re going to see more people becoming “Virtual Reality Refugees.
” By which I mean immersive technologies will provide increasingly attractive alternatives for those wishing to escape the dreamlike madness that has overtaken our real world.This isn’t a completely new idea — it’s been explored in movies, literature, and tons of tech articles — but this past year has convinced me it’s not a far-off possibility, it will be our reality before we know it.
Why 2018 was the pivotal year
This year has been a remarkable year for immersive technologies (which include the whole spectrum of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality).
We’ve seen a compelling use cases emerge for AR, VR, and MR across education, industry, retail and training, as well as the increased acceptance of it as an art form, with festivals all over the world dedicating space to showcasing VR strands.
The Raindance Film Festival, for example, received 600 VR submissions this year, including the first feature-length feature in the format. There’s little doubt the medium is growing up fast.
Social VR companies like Sansar, High Fidelily, AltspaceVR, and others have continued to develop their platforms and build up their user base.
Hardware, too, has evolved significantly this part year, with the long-awaited launch of Magic Leap and the release of the Oculus Go, which means it’s now possible to have untethered, six degrees of freedom experiences in a headset costing under $200.
Although these technologies haven’t quite yet reached the equivalent tipping point that we’ve seen with the web or mobile, there is steady growth and predictions the market will continue to grow.
Meanwhile, in the real world…
Scientists agree we’re about to face increasingly dire consequences from climate change, and NGOs argue only radical action can hope to avert the next mass extinction.
But while nature burns, democracies large and small, old and young, from Brazil to Italy to the US and many more, have chosen to elect populist governments that deny climate change is even real, and who openly advocate racism, misogyny, and intolerance, as well as a general contempt for institutions such as a free press. Even countries like Sweden, Germany, and Holland have seen far-right parties make significant gains in recent elections.
Although this is certainly upsetting – in my case I’ve got four nationalities (US, Brazil, UK, and Italy) and have watched as each of the countries where I have a right to vote have swung towards such candidates – the underlying causes of the phenomenon are the most worrying thing.
People everywhere are angry, they feel let down, cornered, hopeless. And that’s a dangerous position for nations to find themselves in. The global trend unequivocally points towards mass revolt, a lashing out in anger at institutions to make a point (regardless of whether the results harm everyone), and an almost gleeful willingness to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
The situation has got so dire that over the past year I have found almost impossible to watch the news. I can take about 15 minutes before starting to shout at the TV like a mad person, and end up switching over to Netflix.
And I’m certainly not alone. Many of my friends report similar behavior, and it’s a fact that in times of crisis there’s always a surge in demand for novels, blockbuster movies, video games, and…
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