You never think you're that person - the one who walks around using their smart-phone, bumping into people.  Or maybe you're convinced you pay attention every time someone speaks to you, even when you're staring at a screen.  Those are the kind of people who we ridicule, the ones we berate for being too "sucked-in" by technology.  There's still a stigma attached to devoting yourself completely to the virtual world.

I started VR class today as an observer, watching other people have virtual reality or augmented reality experiences.  It was completely fascinating to see grown adults have real, emotional reactions to unreal situations within seconds of putting the goggles on.  Yes, we all feel heightened emotions when we read a book, or watch a movie, but that seems to have more to do with our investment in a narrative.  On the other hand, VR has the benefit of putting us into a situation instantly, no lead-in time required.  Perhaps the best example of this was the U2 concert in 360 degrees: when Bono sings directly to the viewer, one member of the class had to look away as they felt embarrassed by having someone serenade them.  It's an unreal experience, and we know it, but we still react as if it's real.

Of course, observing others is one thing, but participating is another thing entirely.  I'd had experiences with 360 degree video before, but I was not prepared for how immersive the experience can become when you put on headphones, snap on the goggles and virtually teleport to another place.

The sensory replacement really transports you, and the feeling of "being there" gets stronger the longer you stay in the experience.  In the Oculus experience I found myself looking over my shoulder to find out where a voice was coming from, only to be disappointed when I discovered it was a class-mate's voice, and they were not actually "in the world" I was experiencing.  The resolution of the screen, and the smoothness of the motion made me feel, not necessarily like I was in another place, but more like I was in a strange dream.  The Vive had the greatest "whole body" experience, with the ability to walk around and use the wands, but I think that the wired headset, and the sporadic drop in the frame-rate kept me from truly "sinking in" to the experience, and in my mind it felt more like a video game.

I was also surprised by how much focus it required to engage with each of the VR experiences.  It required focus just not just to observe experiences, like with the Google Glass, but also to engage the interface itself.  Some of this may come from a lack of familiarity with the technology, but when each manufacturer  has a different interface, it's hard to keep tabs on how you're supposed to interact.  I found the Microsoft interface by far the easiest to grasp, perhaps because it was based on hand movements, but on the other hand, trying to use a keyboard with the Oculus just created a lot of back and forth as I had to pull the goggles off every time I needed to readjust my position on the keyboard.

I think that VR will truly experience its apotheosis when we can remove all distractions (wires, clunky interfaces etc) and simply sink into another reality.  Maybe when we get to that day there'll be no stigma attached to losing yourself in technology.