Whilst virtual reality (VR) has a long history, recent technological advancements, increased accessibility and affordability have seen its usage become widespread within western consumer society. Despite the relevance of VR to Geography, these more recent developments have escaped scholarly attention. This paper takes a critical perspective on the development of VR and its varied applications, and how emerging theoretical debates within cultural and digital geography can critically attend to the social and cultural implications of VR technologies. The paper begins by considering how VR spaces are imagined and communicated to publics in ways that promote popular understandings of, and desires for, virtual spaces. Next, the paper critically addresses the cultural politics of VR content, particularly drawing attention to the socio-spatial differences evoked through VR. The paper goes on to argue for the need to consider VR through the concept of interface as a way of critically attending to the broader techno-socio relations and the embodied spatial encounters they produce. Finally, some methodological implications for thinking with and through VR are outlined.

中文翻译：

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地理和虚拟现实

虽然虚拟现实 (VR) 有着悠久的历史，但最近的技术进步、可访问性和可负担性的提高已经使其在西方消费社会中得到广泛使用。尽管 VR 与地理相关，但这些最近的发展却没有引起学术界的关注。本文对 VR 的发展及其各种应用，以及文化和数字地理学中新兴的理论辩论如何批判性地关注 VR 技术的社会和文化影响，提出了批判性的观点。本文首先考虑了 VR 空间是如何被想象并以促进大众对虚拟空间的理解和渴望的方式向公众传达的。接下来，这篇论文批判性地讨论了 VR 内容的文化政治，特别提请注意通过 VR 引起的社会空间差异。该论文继续论证有必要通过界面的概念来考虑 VR，作为一种批判性地关注更广泛的技术 - 社会关系及其产生的具体空间相遇的方式。最后，对思考的一些方法论意义概述了使用和通过VR。