Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-2017
Capstone Advisor
Beth Egan
Honors Reader
Daniel Pacheco
Capstone Major
Advertising
Capstone College
Public Communications
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Advertising and Promotion Management
Abstract
With the release of devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Daydream in 2016, virtual reality seems poised to take over the tech and media landscape. Professional estimates of the projected popularity of these devices span extremely wide ranges, and many of these predictions fall victim to a self-serving bias. The purpose of this research is to identify the variables that affect the spread of the use of virtual reality, and to analyze how the characteristics of modern virtual reality relate to these variables. The framework used to identify and assess these variables comes from Everett Rogers’s seminal Diffusion of Innovations theory. To contextualize modern day VR, the paper include a brief history of the technology and relevant predecessors. It also compares and contrasts the diverse VR offerings on the market today. After analyzing virtual reality through the principles of the Diffusion of Innovations theory, it is clear that many factors are slowing VR’s rate of adoption, and that near-future estimates of the spread of the technology should be conservative. Despite this, the benefits of VR as seen through Rogers’s lens suggest that the long term view of the platform is much more optimistic.
Recommended Citation
Daghir, Joshua, "Total Immersion: Virtual Reality's Path to Mass Adoption" (2017). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 1068.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1068
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
