Green, David Philip and Rose, Mandy and Bevan, Chris and Farmer, Harry and Cater, Kirsten and Fraser, Danaë Stanton (2021) ‘You wouldn’t get that from watching TV!’ : Exploring audience responses to virtual reality non-fiction in the home. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 27 (3). pp. 805-829. ISSN 1354-8565
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Consumer virtual reality (VR) headsets (e.g. Oculus Go) have brought VR non-fiction (VRNF) within reach of at-home audiences. However, despite increase in VR hardware sales and enthusiasm for the platform among niche audiences at festivals, mainstream audience interest in VRNF is not yet proven. This is despite a growing body of critically acclaimed VRNF, some of which is freely available. In seeking to understand a lack of engagement with VRNF by mainstream audiences, we need to be aware of challenges relating to the discovery of content and bear in mind the cost, inaccessibility and known limitations of consumer VR technology. However, we also need to set these issues within the context of the wider relationships between technology, society and the media, which have influenced the uptake of new media technologies in the past.