Last weekend, immersed under the infinite expanse of the sapphire blue ocean, I explored the forgotten and untouched pelagic abysses and marveled at the vast diversity of the coral reef biome. Inches away from my grasp were sea turtles and manatees and fish that I could never identify. With each oceanic descent accompanied by a correspondingly breathtaking explosion of darkness interjected with sparkles of bioluminescence, my successive dives into the ecosystem terrified me — not just because each dive brought with it new unexplored marvels, but because I was able to experience this striking realism from the comfort of my dorm.
Such was the power of the virtual reality game my roommate had purchased. As a skeptic, I had long assumed the limitations of 21st-century technology would prevent the creation of a device capable of truly simulating reality, and yet there I was contemplating the enormity of life and biodiversity at the bottom of the ocean.
While much has been made recently of the vast popularity of Pokemon Go and its utilization of augmented reality, it’s easy to assume the same criticisms of technological dependency and video game addiction may arise with the further development of virtual reality. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more and more American men are spending the prime years of their working lives out of the work force: “Since 1965, the prime-age male labor force participation rate has fallen by an average of 0.16 percentage point[s] each year, totaling an 8.3 percentage-point decline as of May 2016.” And while it’s certainly possible that virtual reality-based video games make non-work more attractive, it would be erroneous to assume that they are the primary reasons for this shift in American work demographics.
What these “video game” critics fail to recognize is that a blurry line exists between entertainment and education. More often than not, the most effective educational systems involve some degree of entertainment and excitement, and this pivotal blend may be manifested physically through virtual reality. Yes, virtual reality games may prove distracting, but the same element that makes them so attractive could be used to improve their educational outreach.
Beyond potentially motivating users to explore the marvels of the outside world after allowing them to obtain a glimpse of it digitally, virtual reality systems may allow for more effective job training. In the U.S. alone, many local and state legislatures have renewed the call for mandated police retraining and reform to decrease the incidences of police brutality. Successful development of virtual reality may supplement the role-playing exercises that are pivotal to this occupational training. Virtual reality modules may prove invaluable in modeling the real-life scenarios our law enforcement, military and health care providers often encounter.
In the end, virtual reality can be so much more than just a game. It is a step into a world of possibility and a bridge between reality and entertainment. As such, it serves as a mechanism to accumulate experience while potentially driving an engaging education.
Max An is a senior physiology and neurobiology major. He can be reached at maxandbk@gmail.com.
