“Discomforting VR”: Listening, Feeling, Contacting Virtual Reality Community

Abstract

This paper asks what we can learn from discomfort in virtual reality (VR) beyond perception-altering or consciousness-raising technical affordances. I accomplish this by directing focus upon the everyday VR user and using ethnographic participant observation. I first define a working concept called “discomforting VR” within the context of a corporate marketing scheme, a concept that focuses on unsettling feelings generated by VR experiences. Second, I report on research methods that aim to take a grounded approach toward how to better listen to and feel users in VR. I present two distinct “ethnographic logs,” which are a narration from fieldwork in operation, and I argue that VR can best be understood as a technology that hosts significant community. These findings take us beyond understanding VR as a space offering an embodied sense of immersion/interaction. The paper is a contribution to those interested in the study of Social VR. It will serve as a resource to any who wish to think productively about VR as a focal point for contemporary digital life.