Imagine walking into a café, looking around for an empty seat, and suddenly realizing that people are deliberately avoiding eye contact, silently signaling that you're not welcome. Your stomach tightens, your heartbeat quickens, and the warmth of belonging feels painfully absent. Now, imagine this experience not in your own familiar world, but through the eyes of someone entirely different: a homeless person. We can now do so with the power of virtual reality (VR).
Recent research has unlocked the remarkable potential of VR to bridge empathy gaps in society by immersing individuals in the daily struggles faced by marginalized communities. One fascinating study conducted by researchers Marco Marinucci and Paolo Riva explored precisely this, aiming to uncover whether virtually experiencing homelessness and social exclusion could reduce negative attitudes and promote more compassionate behaviors.
Participants in this innovative experiment stepped into an immersive 360-degree video. Some experienced life through the eyes of an unhoused person, navigating everyday scenarios of rejection and isolation, while others viewed the same scenes from the secure perspective of someone comfortably housed. Crucially, the researchers also compared the effects of immersive VR with traditional 2D-video experiences to test how realism and depth affected outcomes.
The findings were profound. Those who embodied the unhoused perspective in immersive VR didn't merely see exclusion; they felt it, too. This led to reduced negative attitudes toward homeless individuals, and a heightened willingness to engage in charitable activities to help those affected by homelessness. Remarkably, these positive effects were not fleeting: Follow-up checks nine days later confirmed that attitudes and intentions to help remained strong, especially among those who had the fully immersive VR experience.
Why does this immersive exposure have such a lasting impact? The answer lies in the powerful emotional responses triggered by experiencing exclusion firsthand. Humans naturally underestimate how painful social exclusion can be—until they experience it themselves. VR makes this possible by closing the 'empathy gap' that often prevents people from fully understanding the plight of marginalized groups.
This study specifically highlights homelessness as a pressing societal issue where empathy gaps frequently persist. While documentaries and written narratives about homelessness are valuable educational resources, they rarely evoke deep emotional engagement. VR's immersive experience surpasses these traditional methods by making the emotional experience of rejection and isolation feel immediate and real.
The practical implications of these findings are extensive. Nonprofits, policymakers, schools, and community groups can utilize VR technology as a compelling educational tool. VR experiences can significantly contribute to a broader strategy for societal change. Still, real-world impact requires complementary actions such as improved social policies, increased funding for support services, and structural changes addressing root causes of homelessness.
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Many of us routinely pass people experiencing homelessness on our daily commute, often without acknowledgment or interaction. Now imagine that your next encounter is informed by having virtually lived through their daily challenges. Perhaps your response changes from avoidance to acknowledgment or even action. This subtle shift in everyday interactions, powered by empathy, is precisely the kind of change that can ripple outward, promoting genuine connection and practical support for those who need it most.
References
Marinucci, M., & Riva, P. (2025). Homelessness in Virtual Reality: Experiencing Social Exclusion Improves Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Unhoused People. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 28(1), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0027
