VR occupies an interesting place in the media ecosystem. On the one
hand, it is an emerging, 'cutting-edge' technology backed by billions of
USD by major corporations. On the other hand, VR is older than the World
Wide Web and older than social networking sites. After many years of
hype and unfulfilled potential, VR is now finally on the precipice of
widespread adoption and has begun to be used in novel ways throughout
various industries. This edited collection brings together a diverse
group of authors to analyse the current state of VR, while recognizing
that these many different use-cases will likely become even more
important with the increased investment in the technology.
To examine the current state of VR across multiple sites and industries,
we compiled a group of practitioners and academics to both examine VR
practices and theorize new uses of VR. The book also focuses on an
inclusive analysis and includes authors from South America, North
America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, and the topics range from analyses
of VR use in live events to the ethics of nature-based VR apps to the
social practices involved in using public VR at museum exhibits. As we
argue in the introduction, this book is one of the first to bring
together authors from different backgrounds and disciplines to chart
just how widely VR has already spread. And maybe most importantly, the
topics covered in this book will only become more relevant as VR
continues to grow, especially in the wake of the growth of the supposed
Metaverse.
