Change of Public Sphere and Forms of Communication with Virtual Reality: The Case of Vtime From Turkey

Abstract

Today, the development of technology has brought about the creation of new environments in the field of communication. In this context, it can be said that virtual technologies have started to be used in many areas from education to health, from sports to cinema. Virtual reality is a process in which the real and the unreal are fictionalized and brought together through virtually created place. In the virtual reality environment, it can be said that individuals experience the feeling of being there. In this context, virtual reality platforms, which can make the sense of reality feel close, especially in situations where physical proximity is not possible, is one of the important steps in the field of communication. This study aims to investigate the effects of technology in the field of communication by realizing a communication experience via vTime, a virtual reality platform created by a UK-based team. In this direction, the potential of virtual reality environments to create a public sphere is one of the points emphasized by the research. In the study, 5 Turkish people who were brought together on the vTime virtual reality platform were included in a conversation with virtual reality tools. These people were asked questions about their instantaneous experiences in the virtual reality environment and their thoughts on this technology by interview method. By analyzing the answers given, the possibilities of using virtual reality platforms as a communication tool today and in the near future were tried to be revealed.