In the real world, verbal interactions go hand-in-hand with interactions with tangible things. Virtual items can be called upon to serve as powerful and meaningful aides for communications. We posit that the observed increase in social connectedness is due to the affordances of VR, where situational contexts that are often not communicated in traditional telecommunications are made explicit in the virtual world.
Peggy Wu, Jacquelyn Morie, Pete Wall, Tammy Ott, Kim Binsted, ANSIBLE: Virtual Reality for Behavioral Health, Procedia Engineering, Volume 159, 2016, Pages 108-111, ISSN 1877-7058, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.08.132 (Accessed, 10/04/2025: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705816322792)
Jacki (Jaqueline) Ford Morie, founder of All These Worlds, LLC, has spent her career exploring the possible benefits of virtual worlds in psychologically challenging, real-life environments. Their Phase 1 project ANSIBLE for NASA should allow astronauts on long-duration space flights to communicate with family and friends in an immersive manner. Asynchronous communication is a crucial component of space flights, but by providing a three-dimensional world with which both communicators can engage, the feeling of isolation and sensory deprivation can be mitigated. One can create memories that are anchored to a specific game in a specific place. There is the possibility of gifting 3d-prints or leaving voice messages. A.I. agents also engage in spontaneous conversations. The main keystone is the family communication center. In its entry hall, the astronauts can engage with the moon phases currently experienced on earth, while people on earth can see the progress of the astronauts journey.