Opinion: Virtual Reality; a Fun Way to Meet People at a Distance

By Eden Buyno

     In a time of social deficiency sometimes zoom calls just don’t cut it. With how socially awkward this generation is, it’s even worse to talk to people now with businesses closing down and social mandates in place. Virtual reality could be exactly what many people may need; a fun and interactive experience to enjoy with friends and to meet plenty of new people with. 

     On September 16th, 2020 the team at Oculus announced their latest product; the Oculus Quest two. Not only is this VR set it’s own all in one portable system it’s even more affordable than the last Oculus product, costing $300 which is $100 less than the first Quest. 

     As someone who owns an Oculus headset it’s a revolutionary experience when it comes to gaming. With remotes that are able to mimic gestures of your hands and a headset that tracks the room to fit a person’s play space the range of possibilities is far greater than any 2D system could ever wish to achieve. 

     There’s games like “Echo Combat” that hold competitive competitions with multiplayer teams head to head with each other in zero gravity battle fields and then there’s more peaceful experiences like 3D sculpting, golf and fishing for those craving a more relaxing environment. 

     If you’re a fan of games like “Minecraft”or “The Forest”then even those can be experienced in VR. 

     With the colder months coming there’s even better ways to workout outside of going to a gym with VR like “Supernatural”; an app that is designed to help you work out in VR or something more fun like dancing in “Beat Saber”.

      If you’re just interested in meeting people then there are huge chat rooms like “VR chat”that let you be any avatar you can think of and meet people in a vast variety of different environments.

     Not to say that Virtual Reality is something that should replace how people meet each other but it most definitely is a fun alternative to exploring and meeting people from all around the world without leaving your home. If you’re thinking of what to buy your family or yourself this Black Friday or Christmas maybe a VR headset is the way to go.