Virtual Reality Creating Awareness
Racial sensitivity, respect for the environment, and empathy for those with disabilities
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Virtual reality is found to significantly change white people's perceptions of other skin colors, according to European researchers.Researchers at University of Barcelona say that inbuilt racial biases reduce when white skinned people don a virtual body with darker skin. The user is set in a virtual environment where they have a darker skin tone and they are treated differently by the avatars in the virtual world compared to when they were white in the virtual environment. The method is used when the developers create a program for people to empathize for people with disabilities by putting the user in their shoes or situation.
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In addition developers have created awareness for the environment by creating virtual environments where they have the user either contribute to global warming, cut down a tree, or pollute water directly and have the user experience the the negative consequence. They would either have the user swim in a polluted water, enter an environment where there are no more beautiful trees etc. This resulted in them being more aware of their environment and limiting the use of materials that are affecting the environment around them.