Quite a few parents are worried about VR. Will the kids make the difference between “virtual” and “real” reality? Will they bother making real life friends, play real sports and continue reading ? Fabbula talked to Zoé to find out. Zoé is 6 years old. She’s a loudmouth with a knack for making friends. Fabbula asked her what she thinks of virtual reality.
Fabbula: Can you tell me what you saw in the headset?
Zoé: I saw strange things. I was there in my room, but everything around me had changed. There were people, animals… It was very weird.
What is the first image that comes to mind?
Zoé: This guy approaching me. I was like “Ooh la la!”
How did you feel? Were you afraid?
Zoé: Noooo. I was surprised and impressed. But what I was seeing in the headset does not exist. It doesn't scare me.
I saw you moving your hands. What were you trying to do?
Zoé: I was immersed in the world of the headset and I was trying to touch all the things around me. But they are not really there , so my hands were moving in a vacuum.
“Everything is different than reality”
Can you tell the difference between what you see in the headset and real life?
Zoé: The whole time I knew I was wearing the headset. I knew that what it was not real even if it looks like the real world. Even if I see myself moving in the headset world, I know that I am still on the couch.
Some adults are afraid we won’t be able to tell the difference between the real and the virtual. What do you think?
Zoé: I think there is a big difference. The characters, the images, the game, everything is different from reality.
Does this experience call to mind anything else you know? An amusement park, for example?
Zoé: No, it’s really different from a theme park. Here we have the impression that we’re in a real world, it’s magic…
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