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> the less connected we've become as people. This ^. I'm hesitant to embrace a tech that so clearly and obviously keeps people separated. At least with a phon

> the less connected we've become as people. This ^. I'm hesitant to embrace a tech that so clearly and obviously keeps people separated. At least with a phone, you can position it so 2 people can view it simultaneously.

dr_kiszonka 3y ago
True. At the same time, VR could afford richer interactions with those who live far away from you. For example, about 30% of older adults in the US live alone. Of course, it would be better to visit or live with them, but that is often impossible.
- thfuran 3y ago
  It's often inconvenient and rarely impossible.
- garrickvanburen 3y ago
  One side of my family has a weekly Zoom call with elderly parents, scheduled for 2-3 years at this point. Every other week, someone needs to call said parents and walk them through connecting to Zoom. Again. Introduce a VR headset? Absolutely not.
  - the_third_wave 3y ago
    Call them daily and you would not have to "walk them through using Zoom". Better still use something like Telegram where calling is as easy as sending an SMS and they'll call you instead. I use a combination of Nextcloud Talk, Telegram, Jitsi Talk running on my own server and Conversations (Android XMPP app) connecting to my own XMPP server to keep in contact with my mother (85) who lives in the Netherlands while I live in Sweden. We call every day, sometimes more often. She has no problems figuring out how to use the tech since she's been doing it every day for years. I'm not going to introduce VR either but not because she would not understand the technology. It just does not add anything real over what video calling already offers. Maybe AR if and when retinal projection ever gets to be a thing, when the headset is no heavier than a normal pair of glasses, when it is not encumbered by an overly bossy company like Apple, maybe then. Not as long as you need to don a $4K pair of ski goggles which lock you out of the real world to suck you into some corporate mimicry.
    - garrickvanburen 3y ago
      It's awesome you're comfortable maintaining servers to support the tech, and ensuring it works daily. Not all of us prioritize server admin the same way. > I'm not going to introduce VR either...it just does not add anything real over what video calling already offers. ^ this is the key point.

dr_kiszonka 3y ago

True. At the same time, VR could afford richer interactions with those who live far away from you. For example, about 30% of older adults in the US live alone. Of course, it would be better to visit or live with them, but that is often impossible.

thfuran 3y ago
It's often inconvenient and rarely impossible.
garrickvanburen 3y ago
One side of my family has a weekly Zoom call with elderly parents, scheduled for 2-3 years at this point. Every other week, someone needs to call said parents and walk them through connecting to Zoom. Again. Introduce a VR headset? Absolutely not.
- the_third_wave 3y ago
  Call them daily and you would not have to "walk them through using Zoom". Better still use something like Telegram where calling is as easy as sending an SMS and they'll call you instead. I use a combination of Nextcloud Talk, Telegram, Jitsi Talk running on my own server and Conversations (Android XMPP app) connecting to my own XMPP server to keep in contact with my mother (85) who lives in the Netherlands while I live in Sweden. We call every day, sometimes more often. She has no problems figuring out how to use the tech since she's been doing it every day for years. I'm not going to introduce VR either but not because she would not understand the technology. It just does not add anything real over what video calling already offers. Maybe AR if and when retinal projection ever gets to be a thing, when the headset is no heavier than a normal pair of glasses, when it is not encumbered by an overly bossy company like Apple, maybe then. Not as long as you need to don a $4K pair of ski goggles which lock you out of the real world to suck you into some corporate mimicry.
  - garrickvanburen 3y ago
    It's awesome you're comfortable maintaining servers to support the tech, and ensuring it works daily. Not all of us prioritize server admin the same way. > I'm not going to introduce VR either...it just does not add anything real over what video calling already offers. ^ this is the key point.