Group 1 presented a news broadcast on the impacts and uses of virtual reality (VR) technology. The broadcast was anchored by Darshil Dharia and Cheryl Litwinczuk, with field reporting by Ruhil Shah and video editing by Zia Chaudhry. The anchors discussed how VR is being used in industries like gaming, education, and healthcare. They also noted some paradoxical effects, ethical issues, and how VR adoption may grow as more applications are developed to attract different users.

1. Group #: 1
Group Members: Cheryl Litwinczuk, Darshil Dharia, Ruhil Shah, Zia Chaudhry
Anchor One: Darshil Dharia
Anchor Two: Cheryl Litwinczuk
Field Reporter: Ruhil Shah
Video Recording and Editing: Zia Chaudhry
NEWS SCRIPT
RUVR (Name of Fictional News Company)
NOVEMBER 10, 2015
---INTRO START---
ANCHOR 1: Broadcasting live from the newsroom from the SCI Building at Rutgers, hi, I’m
Darshil Dharia.
ANCHOR 2: Good afternoon, this is Cheryl Litwinczuk and we have a very special broadcast for
today’s program.
ANCHOR 1: Today we will be discussing the impacts of virtual reality technologies such as the
Oculus Rift and how they relate to different topics in Social Informatics.
ANCHOR 2: But before we show you what our some of viewers have shared with us, we would
like to share with you, what Philip Rosedale, an expert on the topic has to say about virtual
worlds.
[interview video]
---INTRO END---
---PRINCIPAL 1 & 2 START---
ANCHOR 1: So Cheryl, the uses of ICT’s can lead to multiple and sometimes paradoxical
effects. Could you explain to the viewers what this means for virtual reality technology?

2. ANCHOR 2: Right. The introduction of VR technology to the masses will mean a lot of changes
for the tech industry. First of all, we’re already seeing a lot of uses for just the Oculus Rift alone
in many industries. People are using it to make more immersive gaming experiences, teach
students about topics like astronomy, and even teach surgeons how to do their jobs. Even
companies like Facebook are betting on VR to try and create the next generation of social
experiences using this technology.
[video of VR surgery]
ANCHOR 1: It’s interesting to see all the different uses of VR tech but there are also some
paradoxical effects associated with it. As we’ve observed with the introduction of MMORPGs, a
more social experience in a virtual world doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll become more social
creatures. There are many recorded cases of people locking others in the real world out of their
lives in order to stay attached to virtual worlds. Additionally, using VR technology doesn’t
guarantee us a more immersive experience because companies will continue to target us for
revenue. I’m looking forward to getting attacked by VR advertisements while talking to my
friends in a virtual world!
ANCHOR 2: This leads us to the next topic because the use of VR tech will benefit some groups
more than others. Virtual reality technology requires a large initial fee compared to other
technologies in order to utilize most software. A person not only needs to invest in the
expensive technology itself, such as the Oculus Rift Head-Mounted Display, but they will also
require a powerful computer to drive the device, or a powerful phone in the case of mobile VR.
This immediately cuts out the large majority of customers worldwide because most people are
not willing to shell out that kind of money. The price will go down over time however, but at the
moment only the wealthiest people will be able to make the most out of VR technology.
---PRINCIPAL 1 & 2 END---
[video of high-profile VR simulation]
---PRINCIPAL 3 START---
ANCHOR 2: Additionally, the uses of ICTs can have different moral and ethical consequences.
We have ____, our expert on the field with details about how this relates to VR tech.
FIELD REPORTER 1: Thanks Darshil, There are a few ethical issues associated with virtual
reality technology. VR tech is tightly coupled with the rest of our modern technology including
our computers and phones. As a result, companies will be able to log all sorts of data about us

3. simply based on the way we will use our VR tech. Facebook for example, can track what kind of
applications we use with VR on their website and use this to target ads that we’ll be forced to
look at. Additionally, history tells us that immersive experiences can potentially lead to problems
in the case of topics such as violent video games. Creating a more immersive experience for
gamers could simply add more fuel to that fire since a more immersive gaming experience has
the potential to cause more trauma within certain types of players.
[video of VR horror game]
ANCHOR 2: Thank you for the valuable information.
---PRINCIPAL 3 END---
---PRINCIPAL 4 & 5 START---
ANCHOR 2: Moving forward on a lighter note, the design, implementation, and uses of ICT’s
have a reciprocal relationship on the larger social context.
ANCHOR 1: To relate that to virtual reality tech, we can look at the growth of regular software in
the tech industry. The early adopters of computers developed applications that appeal to the
rest of us which eventually caused everybody to go out and buy a computer. The same can be
said of VR technology. The early adopters will work hard to develop interesting applications that
will attract individuals to the technology and this has the potential to create a rippling effect that
will encourage others to move into the territory as well. This leads us to our final topic where we
will look at how the phenomenon of interest varies by the level of analysis.
ANCHOR 2: We can already see how this is working out by looking at the development of the
Oculus Rift. The device’s original intent was to better serve gamers by providing them with a
more immersive experience, however software developers have taken this “gaming technology”
and built a plethora of non-gaming applications that we have already shown you, such as the
surgeon training. More importantly however, is the impact of this shift of focus within the industry
as a whole. The shift in interest has inspired, and will continue to inspire developers to create
virtual reality technology with other interests in mind. In Japan, researchers have used a custom

4. VR solution to create a tool that allows disabled children to learn how to play the piano without
having to use their hands.
[insert Fove video]
---PRINCIPAL 4 & 5 END---
---CONCLUSION START---
ANCHOR 2: As our viewers can see, there is great potential for virtual reality technology in the
future but we can already begin to embrace the changes the technology has brought us.
ANCHOR 1: Thank you for watching.
---CONCLUSION END---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1zJ4xkdLI8