A Virtual Reality Pangolin Made Me Cry: Can VR Headsets Truly Make Us Care More About the Planet?

Constant bad news dulls our response to climate catastrophes for many. However, research indicates that a novel form of immersive virtual reality (VR) storytelling about nature can inspire us to take action and foster empathy. I'm crying into a VR headset. I

just finished watching a virtual reality experience that follows Chestnut, a young pangolin, as she struggles to survive in the Kalahari Desert. Her armored body seems vulnerable as she curls up alone to sleep as a vast, dusty landscape surrounds me. The life of a real pangolin that scientists tracked is the basis for her story. Since the number of insects has decreased as a result of climate change, chestnut has been unable to find enough food for ants. E

Even as exhaustion takes over, her cheerful voice maintains an optimistic tone. She passes away in the final scenes, and I have to awkwardly remove my headset to wipe my eyes. Research suggests that VR experiences can be much more than just entertaining or moving. Scientists are learning that virtual reality nature experiences can change our attitudes and actions, and that these arresting nature depictions might inspire us to take better care of our environment.

HabitatXR, a Johannesburg-based production studio, created my powerful VR experience of Chestnut's story. Ulrico Grech-Cumbo, the company's founder, started it in 2016 after going to the African bush a lot and taking pictures of the iconic wildlife and green, dusty landscapes. He realized that he could transform his footage into something more immersive because he had experience working in virtual reality.

"I thought being inside a natural history documentary would be a lot of fun," he says.

One of the businesses experimenting with virtual reality to create nature experiences is HabitatXR. Wild Immersion, based in Paris, brings their immersive films of snowscapes and underwater worlds to aquariums and science centers. And UK artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast have created immersive experiences that show the forest through the eyes of a dragonfly, and take the viewer "inside" a tree.

The virtual African savannah serves as the setting for the HabitatXR nature experiences. One of them takes me to a misty landscape with tall, flat-topped acacias. A rhinoceros suddenly appears, dangerously close to me as it walks toward me and lowers its head, its enormous horn scything the air. I instinctively look down to where the rhino's horn should have grazed my knee, despite the pixelated graphics. The beast lets out a gasping snort before thankfully retreating. I'm beginning to realize how emotionally gripping this type of narrative can be. And I'm not alone;

Grech-Cumbo witnessed the profound impact that one of HabitatXR's VR experiences had on those who viewed it at a fundraising gala hosted by an environmental NGO. According to him, "high net worth individuals were strolling around with expensive watches and champagne glasses." "We would put a VR headset on them and put them in a dark room, and five minutes later, they would be crying. I've never witnessed a film do that to fifty people at once.

Scientific research confirms Grech-Cumbo's observation that virtual reality tends to elicit stronger emotions than other forms of media. When compared to, for instance, reading an article that displays the same images and information, participating in a virtual reality experience about a Syrian refugee elicits more intense emotions. VR content that deals with nature may have particular advantages. People were more likely to sign a petition to reduce plastic use or take flyers to spread the word about the petition after participating in a nature experience that showed a forest of majestic trees.

Another study, which took participants on a journey through the Amazon rainforest, found that those who experienced the forest through virtual reality reported feeling closer to nature and being more committed to the environment than those who saw the same rainforest images on a standard computer screen. VR is particularly adept at evoking the complex and profound feeling of awe. Awe, according to psychologists, is the sensation of being in the presence of something vast that goes beyond your current understanding of the world. We may experience wonder and uncertainty at the same time. Additionally, research indicates that feeling awe may encourage us to make personal sacrifices for the environment.

These most recent scientific studies of awe build on a long tradition of research into it in the arts and philosophy. It particularly enthralled some poets and writers of the 18th century, whose experience of what they called "the sublime" was frequently influenced by nature. (Read Richard Fisher's article on the benefits of feeling small to learn more about the power of awe.)

Alice Chirico, a psychologist at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, has investigated the potential impact of virtual reality (VR) on people's relationships with the natural world and its capacity to awe us. She has discovered that when VR nature experiences give us a sense of vastness, like huge mountains and tall trees, they make us feel awestruck. She found in another study that people were more likely to take social actions to protect the environment when they had these amazing virtual nature experiences.

According to Chirico, "awe is able to support positive attitudes toward the environment as well as a sense of attachment towards the environment – a kind of nature connectedness, the feeling of being included within something that is much bigger than us." "Awe is able to support positive attitudes toward the environment." She claims that virtual reality (VR) can do this in a way that other media formats cannot because it can immerse us in a story and give the impression that we are a part of it. "The illusion of being really there in that specific place in that specific moment, as if it is reality itself," as Chirico puts it, "manipulates the sense of presence" in VR.

The immersive advantage that virtual reality (VR) may offer over other forms of media like articles or videos may have real-world effects. Instead of reading an article or watching a video, researchers have found that when people learn about the need for environmentally friendly behaviors through VR, they are more likely to save energy at home. They suggest that the "presence mechanism," or the sensation of truly being in another world, is to blame for the difference. These experiences typically place the viewer in close proximity to their subject, such as inside a wildebeest migration herd or a gorilla encounter.

However, the current state of technology might make it difficult to fully immerse oneself in such scenes. The rhino with its horns flapping was striking, but it didn't look real. Rich, high-resolution imagery, according to the researchers, is essential for immersing the viewer in the experience. As accessories improve the realism of virtual worlds, VR technology is expected to advance in the coming years. For instance, there is even a glove that can make the wearer believe that a spider is crawling across their hand. Despite decades of enthusiasm for virtual reality, the technology has struggled to gain widespread acceptance.

Virtual reality headsets are still only available to a small number of people, with only 10 million being sold annually worldwide. For instance, there are rumors that Apple's long-awaited Vision Pro headset, which retails for $3,499 in the United States and £3,499 in the United Kingdom, has only sold a small portion of what was anticipated.

"There's probably a nine out of ten chance that if I put a headset on a person, it's their first time wearing a VR headset," says Grech-Cumbo, who has worked in this industry for ten years.

Could dazzling virtual experiences diminish our appreciation for local, everyday nature even if the technology were more readily available? Grech-Cumbo acknowledges that it is essential that captivating virtual reality nature experiences do not detract from the actual forests, parks, and mountain ranges in our immediate surroundings. He states, "This is about comprehending our own relationship with nature, wherever we are." HabitatXR is currently working on a project that will bring virtual nature into cities, starting with Johannesburg, keeping this in mind.

A web of life experience will be included in their plans for a virtual reality "Zoo of the Future." In this experience, users will be able to virtually pick up individual species—flowers, grasses, insects, and animals—from an ecosystem map and view their ecological ties to other species. Grech-Cumbo states, "[We want to] emphasize the fact that] we are all connected – whether we believe it or not, whether we like it or not." Chirico emphasizes that virtual reality should not be used in place of nature and reality.

There are numerous limitations imposed by virtual nature. According to studies, it is unable to improve our mood in the same way that real nature can. However, it might promote democracy. According to Chirico, "the goal is to provide it in a way that is cheaper" since "people don't always have full or easy access to nature."