Diffusion Theory on Virtual Reality

 

Virtual Reality, we have all heard of it and know some of what it is capable of, however, do we understand why the spread of this invention happened the way it did? According to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory, there is a reason and process behind the spread of inventions. Before going into 3-D printing, let's look at this theory a bit more in-depth.

Diffusion Theory

    Everett Rogers created the diffusion theory to explain the spread of ideas and innovations through why and how. "Rogers argues that diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated over time among the participants in a social system." The theory explains that there are five main influences on this spread: " the innovation itself, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system." He also explains how there are "adopters" that all play different roles. These adapters are categorized into five different categories as well: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

The Start

    Now that we have the main idea of diffusion theory, let us connect it to the spread of virtual reality. VR was first created in 1956 by cinematographer Morton Heilig. The machine was called the "Sensorama" which combined a "3D video, audio, vibrations, smell, and atmospheric effects, such as wind." Ever since this, VR has grown and never stopped and is expected to grow even more in the future.

Diffusion theory and VR Headsets

VR has many aspects to it that will catch the eye of individuals. Being considered an "escape" from reality, VR headsets have become extremely popular today. With VR headsets being released to the public in 2016, the early adopters were able to get their hands on some. Today we can say that VR headsets are much further than marked in the photo to the left. Metaverse describes that "VR offers several advantages over traditional gaming and entertainment experiences. First, VR allows players to immerse themselves in a game or other experience completely. This is thanks to headsets that block out distractions and create an immersive environment." However, VR headsets can be used for so much more than gaming. Training, education, increased productivity, escapism, social networking, and more are all examples of the benefits of this creation. While they are expensive as well, they are not outrageously expensive and hard to get. The reason some individuals are late majority or laggards would be because of price. 

    However, there are some individuals who don't have a headset, why is that? First, we need to understand there are disadvantages to VR headsets as well. These are health risks, social isolation, and expense. With this being said, the positive points of a VR headset heavily outway the negative. As most of these negative points can be prevented as long as you use the headset responsibly. And with the idea of how VR will grow and help our society in the future also pushes the spread of it. Making more and more individuals want to be a part of the growth by buying pieces of it.