#5 Could Virtual Reality Help Ease Our Global Identity Crisis?
Hi from Amsterdam’s River IJ, Readers — HNY! Check out the fifth post in my five-part Medium.com blog series exploring tech’s impact on global risk; it builds on my past HuffPost blog series explaining the ongoing global legitimacy crisis. It is inspired in part by discussions with my NYU grad students and key ideas in my award-winning political comic book, The Global Kid.
At this point it should be clear to everyone — this is a sensitive turning point in our human development. Since the Cold War ended in 1991, our global values centered around democracy and human rights — at least this is what the US-led international community would preach and in theory what we were all supposed to be striving for. But today we find ourselves in a new world order. We seem to be questioning who we are, as xenophobic sentiment spreads globally. What are our global values today and who should decide them? According to World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab, citizens everywhere are struggling with an identity crisis — they cannot “digest” the “complexity of the world” which causes “emotional turmoil”. He might very well be right. And yet the global identity crisis of today’s world is distinct requiring distinct solutions. Tech, particularly virtual reality (VR), may help.
Let’s investigate:
First, are we globalists or nationalists? This is the crux of our global identity crisis. We are clearly confused. Xenophobia has been on the rise for awhile. A BBC Global Survey reveals 75% believe their societies are “more divided” than 10 years ago, with over 40 percent attributing this to diversity in ethnicity or religion (especially in Western Europe). The marked decline of collective empathy has seen the notable rise of hate groups and related violence in recent years. Consider the actions of empowered hate groups against many migrants and refugees in parts of the US, Europe, Africa and Latin America, plus the exclusionary rhetoric from governments led by populist leaders. And let’s not forget the violent nationalism brewing in Asia, particularly in countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India against Muslim minorities. Will these minorities ever (re)gain a sense of belonging alongside the majority? Maybe, but not in the near term.
Second, tech has exacerbated this global identity crisis, particularly as social media is leveraged to instigate xenophobic violence. UN human rights experts confirm that Facebook has been used to spread hate speech in Myanmar, turning into a “beast” against local Muslim minorities (in fact, some anti-Muslim posts have even been directly tied to senior military personnel). In Sri Lanka, Buddhist mobs’ anti-Muslim riots have been in part driven by disturbing Facebook posts like “Kill all Muslims, don’t let even one child of the dogs escape”. In India, both Facebook and WhatsApp messages have promoted fake news and hate speech which has led to killings of certain minorities. In the US and the EU, far right extremists have leveraged social media to spread their anti-minority views and violence. Yes, we all know regulation of social media, and the tech giants who created it, is key, but we’ve been saying that for awhile. WhatsApp, Facebook and others have also been saying for years that they’re doing everything they can to prevent the spread of hate speech through their tech (ok great, tech firms — please keep at it). But what else can we do? We clearly need other approaches too.
Third, tech, especially VR, may help ease this global identity crisis by creating more empathy to counter xenophobia. The bottom line is we need to redefine who we are and what our global values might be, as xenophobia challenges each of us. It doesn’t hurt that public figures like the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis condemn xenophobia. Plus tech is already being used to effectively promote positive values — consider EndX.org, an online movement to “recapture core values of inclusivity.” But what is key is to create more empathy in today’s era of rising xenophobia — and VR could help. Billions of dollars have been invested in VR in recent years for new types of immersive entertainment. VR is also being used as a tool to treat social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, especially amongst youth and soldiers. And it has reduced ignorance by allowing viewers to feel what life is like as a Rohingya or Syrian refugee.
But could it also make us less xenophobic? Recent research suggests VR has promoted racial sensitivity and greater empathy for those with disabilities, respect for the environment as well as altruism. What if VR was used to challenge the views of the xenophobic citizen (or politician) who doesn’t want more refugees in his country or the extremist, anti-Muslim hate group member? Yes, this is all idealistic and hypothetical (e.g. who would implement this and how would we get the xenophobic to participate?), but it’s a start. Until we can definitively answer the global identity question, the identity fissures in society will deepen, while hate groups thrive and the minority suffers. We urgently need more creative ways to boost empathy to counter xenophobia.
And what about you, Reader — are you a globalist or a nationalist?
