Oculus imaginaries

The promises and perils of Facebook’s virtual reality

Bibliographic Data

ID12655971
AuthorsBen Egliston (0000-0002-7878-7208, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author), Marcus Carter (0000-0002-4866-4928, The University of Sydney)
Year2020
Volume24
Issue1
Pages70-89
Publication date2020-09-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1461444820960411
OpenAlexW3089279495
LanguageEN
Citations received47
References cited33

This article explores the Oculus suite of virtual reality (VR) technologies, with a specific focus on the period following the company’s 2014 acquisition by Facebook. Through a close reading of promotional material, we first describe and analyse the ‘Oculus imaginary’ – the narrative produced by Facebook about the Oculus as integrated into and enhancing the experience of Facebook’s wider suite of social software. The purpose of this narrative, we suggest, is to construct and ‘sell’ a Facebook-specific vision of VR’s potentials – one that is appealing both to end users and platform complementors – and moreover, a vision that appears to be conducive to Facebook’s current methods for accumulating profit and power. Following on, we develop via a study of YouTube user comments posted on promotional videos for the Oculus, an anticipatory account of how the Oculus imaginary is perceived to relate to the lives and values of everyday individuals

Art · Construct (python library · Human–computer interaction · Internet privacy · Literature · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Suite · The Imaginary · Virtual reality · Cinema and Media Studies · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Psychology · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts

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