• Pain management and therapy: VR already shows promise for reducing chronic pain and helping with PTSD; scaled up, it could offer affordable therapy sessions in calming virtual environments.

• Empathy and exposure therapy: Someone struggling with social anxiety might “practice” conversations in VR, gradually building real-world confidence.

  
  

[-]Exacerbated Inequality

• Tech divide: High-quality VR rigs and experiences are expensive. The wealthy gain access to immersive education, therapy, and job opportunities, while the poor get stuck with laggy, ad-filled, low-quality simulations.

• Virtual privilege: Elite institutions might use VR to enrich their students while public systems lag, widening educational gaps.

Automated Driving System (ADS) can enhance road safety and overall well-being by reducing the physical and cognitive strain drivers experience during long journeys or heavy traffic. Also, the user-centered design process focuses on users, their needs and requirements.

[-] : Possible system fault:

In more than half (58%) of the collisions, the ADS was affected from the rear by another vehicle. ADS collisions are likely to be an issue for the foreseeable future. The collisions will continue to come from automation system failures as well as human interface problems with increasingly complicated partial ADS.

References:

Biever, W., Angell, L., & Seaman, S. (2019). Automated Driving System Collisions: Early Lessons. Human Factors, 62(2), 249-259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720819872034 (Original work published 2020)

Rajanen, M. (2021, June 15). Benefits of usability and user experience in automated driving. In P. Kuvaja et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Eclipse Research International Conference on Security, Artificial Intelligence, Architecture and Modelling for Next Generation Mobility (SAAM 2021) (pp. 27–31). CEUR Workshop Proceedings. http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3028/D1-06-ESAAMM_2021_paper_9.pdf

Platforms shift toward meaningful interactions over passive scrolling.

Cultural Exchange & Creativity:

Short-form video, AI tools, and interactive features spark new forms of storytelling, connecting cultures more fluidly.

[-] Algorithmic Polarization

Echo chambers deepen, fueling political division, extremism, and social unrest.

Surveillance & Exploitation

Platforms collect even more behavioral data, turning users into commodities for advertisers and AI training.

Erosion of Mental Health

Addiction, comparison culture, and algorithm-driven content worsen anxiety, depression, and body image issues.

Cultural Homogenization

Global platforms push similar trends everywhere, leading to a loss of local diversity in culture and expression.

References:

Amedie, J. (2015). The impact of social media on society. https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/2/

Quote: "Social media is robbing us of trust and comfort we once placed in one another, replacing the human fellowship, physical and emotional support we once drew from each other with virtual connection. It robs us from self- control and from the ability to think independently and instead makes us gullible to join any group that posts perverse messages that tickle our ear and amuse our senses without evaluating the consequences."

Pulido, C. M., Redondo-Sama, G., Sordé-Martí, T., & Flecha, R. (2018). Social impact in social media: A new method to evaluate the social impact of research. PloS one, 13(8), e0203117.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0203117&type=printable