Every
year at SXSWi, there’s the collective intake of breath while we wait for the
next quantum leap to be announced. There was pre-festival buzz around Meerkat
this year. But that came and went weeks before any of us got here. Periscope
made it’s debut. But even those apps (as evidence of a quantum leap) are pretty
thin. Particularly when you consider completely serviceable apps like Ustream
have been around for years. So it’s only natural, that we start to look inward.
Not so much discussing sudden shifts. But instead measuring the gradual effect the
digital world is starting to have on our emotional state as we sink deeper into
it.
2016
will mark the commercial launch of virtual reality. Hold on to something.
Because this will be a media hailstorm. But what’s already interesting is how as
we deepen our immersion in the digital world, behavorial responses are starting
to surface. Here are some of the learnings and themes that surfaced around that this year:
1)
Digital
Avatars. There is mounting evidence that digital avatars aren’ the firewall we
presume they are. Generally, users will be more honest and therefore more
vulnerable behind the protection of an avatar. When avatars are violated in
virtual space, it can be emotionally damaging. Behavorial scientists are
beginning to see symptoms in actual users that are indistinguishable from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) when they’re avatars are subjected to mistreatment in
virtual systems.
2)
Rapid
Identity Shifting. We’re being conditioned to shift rapidly between our digital
identies. In a few minutes, a user can shuttle between applications that will
change their role from seductress to sister to employee (for example). Two
decades ago it would’ve seemed schizophrenic to shed one personality for
another so quickly. But technology is
teaching us to exchange one role for the next in record time.
3)
Nature
Rift. As we spend more time in digital space, it’s drawing us away from nature.
Generally, people who spend more time in nature (however you want to define
that) are happier. So it’s not surprising that VR sees a role for itself here.
Eden River, is an early though interesting entrant in the VR “let’s get back
to nature and be happy” space. Though it lacks the immersion of viewing it through Oculus Rift, here’s a Youtube version.
4)
2015.
The Year of Mood. Given the sudden
interest in the behavorial impact of technology, it’s not surprising to see a
word get dusted off that had it’s first big run in the 70’s. Mood. The research
linked below suggests that matching the mood of a viewer is more likely to
persuade than mismatching. Which has fascinating implications provided we can
guess or predict what a viewer’s mood is like. Check it out here.
By reading voice and facial expressions,
Toyota’s new FV-2 concept will assess the mood of the driver, displaying
different exterior colors (like a mood ring) and making adjustments to
effectively get the driver to a good emotional space (i.e. not road rage).
In general, technology (including wearables)
is getting better at reading our emotional state. Which puts us at an
interesting crossr0ad. On the one hand, the time may come where we can quickly
assess the best time to do anything. The best time to run 5 miles. The best
time to write a poem. The best time to bake a cake. We may soon be able to self
diagnose optimal times to do everything with the greatest possibility of
success. But there’s a bit of an Orwellian twist, as employers may soon have
the ability to embed subtle biometric readers in at-work technology that could quietly
sift and classify employees as behavorially desirable or undesirable.
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