What question did this study set out to answer?

Explore how user imaginaries of virtual reality (VR) serve as spaces for contesting societal norms and envisioning utopias.

February 8, 2026Media and CommunicationOpen Access

VR Heterotopia: User Imaginaries of Virtual Reality Headsets as Technology for Reaching Utopic Spaces

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

Ethnographic study explores how virtual reality serves as a contested space for societal change, revealing user hopes and fears.

Explore how user imaginaries of virtual reality (VR) serve as spaces for contesting societal norms and envisioning utopias.
Utilized ethnographic materials collected from domestic VR usage in Swedish homes.
Applied Foucauldian concept of heterotopia to analyze spatialities of VR.
Examined user practices and imaginaries in relation to other technologies and digital places.
Identified VR as a medium for users to imagine and practice alternative social futures.
Found that VR users juxtapose their experiences with dystopic fictions, highlighting complex feelings about technology.
Revealed users view VR as a hopeful 'other' amidst prevailing digital geographies.

Linnea Saltin (2026) studied this question.

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark