Abstract:

This study examines the impact of storytelling choices–including positionality of storyteller/journalist, proximity of camera to subject, choice of camera technology, audio track, agency of consumer on view, and implementation of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in storytelling–on empathetic connections of consumer to the subject of the story. It has been suggested that technology has the potential to create an “experience” in which a consumer is immersed in images and sounds that replicate that of the participant-storyteller. Through this technologically simulated experience, the physiological conditions that promote empathy may be fostered. This study interrogates a sample’s response to a VR-based story to examine the impact of Virtual Reality technology on the consumer’s empathetic response and presents three findings that discuss: Viewer agency and its relationship to engagement; Access to “realness” and its impact on empathetic response; and the use of multimedia to engage a viewer.

The present study is an extension of research in storytelling and innovation that started with undergraduate students in February 2000 to understand the influence of sharing stories through innovative tools. At the onset of the pandemic, we used virtual reality to tell stories in 360 degrees to allow storytellers to virtually bring users to scenes and spaces. Since 2000, an interdisciplinary team of professors have convened, using VR as a pedagogical tool. This specific study examines the impact of this work on building empathetic connections as a 21st Century skill through the user experience of engaging content on an innovative platform across the disciplines of Education and Journalism.

Keywords:

VR, Innovative Educational Technologies, Multiculturality & Inclusion, Digital Transformation of Education, Active & Student-Centered Learning, Storytelling.