Explain the tech; what is it, how does it work, what hardware, software, and network does it need?

Virtual Reality (VR) is a face-covering device that can do what was once only imaginable in comics and fiction; suddenly, becoming a part of your favorite video game in person became very possible. The VR device tracks your body’s movements and position, allowing for a realistic simulation of the world around you on a thin screen that covers the entirety of your peripheral and frontal vision. The VR is run similar to your cellular device or laptop, typically connected to a 5G adoption scale and edge computing for LTE – but it can change depending on the nature of your device, whether you own the Quest or Occulus, and/or the rendering availability. (STL Advisory, 2022)

Is it currently available to the public?

The VR is VERY available to the public, although to own one yourself you are looking at a spending fee varying between 400.00 – 700.00. Malls, attractions, and occasionally game shops will have VR stations available for users to use, whether it is a rented VR that the user can borrow for a few hours or bringing their own to use in-shop! The VR community is wide and diverse, allowing for users to play games from a new perspective online as well to communicate together!

Who (or what) invented or pioneered the technology?

Virtual Reality has been a targeted subject for years, being worked on in tech research as a major goal and achievement. The very first head-gear based device that was created to work as a VR was made by Ivan Sutherland with the assistance of students. His VR was titled “The Sword of Damocles” – which may have been very bulky for equipment and of a simplistic function, but it operated and met the goal in 1968. Ivan Sutherland inquired, “The screen is a window through which one sees a virtual world. The challenge is to make that world look real, act real, sound real, feel real.”

What "problem" does it solve for its users?

While the VR may not specifically resolve any known problem, it can provide uses in ways that can be beneficial. For nursing students, there are VR programs that can allow users to recreate a dissection analysis for the human anatomy, along with other games that can be considered interactive learning. The VR can provide upwards of 6 hours’ worth of entertainment with a battery extender, acting as a great time killer and distraction for any time of day.

Are there any potential drawbacks or dangers of using the tech?

While the VR offers a new, technologically advanced system to its users, the device still suffers from drawbacks, error, and risks all the same. As the VR is a used with a face-covering system, a major risk to the VR is tripping, walking into walls and items, and general lack of physical world awareness.

Offer one example of how widespread adoption of this technology might impact society.

Technology and its many forms have impacted society in more ways than most recognize, and that applies to VR too. While VR is newer to the world in contrast with computers and phones, it is still sharing an influence on the user’s who can utilize it. The widespread adoption of the VR can increase people’s ability to socialize, introduce opportunity for disabled people, increase learning availability, and so much more.

https://stlpartners.com/articles/edge-computing/how-5g-and-edge-computing-will-transform-ar-vr-use-cases/

https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/history.html#:~:text=In%201968%20Ivan%20Sutherland%20and,ceiling%20(hence%20its%20name).

What were the top three social media sites, in terms of traffic, in 21-22? List them in order of popularity. 

New platforms for social media are being created, updated, and monopolized every day. With the consistent change in the industry, it leaves room for a lot of competition for viewers! Who can pick up the most popularity? How fast? With Tiktok’s ever-growing platform, one would think that it falls under one of the fastest growing, most beloved platforms of 2022 with over a billion users and fans; however, for 2021 and 2022 users, it is no debate that Facebook takes the crown at #1 most used social media app for years running from 2009 to current. Following Facebook for the latest years, Instagram and Twitter follow suit at #2 and #3 for having the highest traffic, member count, and sponsorships! 

Provide a brief summary of how each social media site works and why people use it. 

Social media: the apps and webpages that nobody can get enough of. Whether it’s sharing life activities or puppy photos and political discussions, communication has never been more vivid and active as it is today! Social medias thrive off of their monetization and users, acting to spread content for anyone no matter how old, broke, educated, or fashionable. People flock to these medias to stay in the loop about the latest trends and politics, keeping in touch with the real world through the virtual one as some may put it! 

What are "demographics" and why is it important in social media?

For colorful cartoons, it is common for the target audience to be for young children who enjoy the bubbly characteristics. For a babysitting advertisement, the target audience might be for parents who need a minute to themselves. A “demographic” is the target audience – what audience do you want to attract? For social media, the demographic is important to take notice to as it is who will most likely be interested in the platform. Twitter and Instagram tailor to those with the interest of sharing their life and communicating; young adults are more likely to be the target demographic.

Explain any demographics that stand out among the three social media sites you listed above. (More popular with a specific age group, are majority of users male or female, married or single, employees or self-employed, etc.)

For Facebook, it is noted in 2022 by Salman Aslam in his statistic review that the widest demographic for Facebook users is faced in the gender identity pages from the ages of 25 and 35 years, at 18.8% for the average male users and around 12.8% for the female user. 

For Instagram, Stacey McLachlan’s careful analysis estimates that the vast majority of users demographics rank from the ages of 16 to 30, notably varying from most ages up to 60 as well.

For Twitter, Alyssa Hirose reports that the typical variation for users are between the ages of 20 to 35. Twitter occasionally contains inappropriate themes for younger demographics and is targeted for adults with less monitored content.

On average, how much time do users spend on each social media site during a day, week or month? Provide a resource that supports your answer.

Social media is indisputably an addictive activity that a vast majority of internet-accessed people share, containing a whopping 4.74 billion people of the populace world-wide! It’s no doubt that the most frequently used medias would hold a large quantity of monthly viewers, that being proven in MANSOOR IQBAL‘s statistics on 3 different blog posts he shared specifically for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Facebook holds a monthly visitor count of over 2.9 billion guests.

Instagram holds a monthly visitor count of over 2 billion guests.

While lastly, Twitter holds the least amount of monthly guests with only 450 million guests per month. 

MANSOOR IQBAL supports these statistics thoroughly in his blog posts, “Facebook Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022)” , “Instagram Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022)”, and again in “Twitter Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022)”, explaining not only the statistical value of the demographics and usages, but including profit margins and review.

Which of the three social media networks is growing the fastest? Why do you think that is? 

Between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Instagram is easily experiencing the most dramatic incline of growth annually. Again in MANSOOR IQBAL’s statistics, it can be compared that Facebook and Twitter’s following have not improved as drastically in recent years where-as Instagram has reached a seemingly constant status of user-growth for 2022. 

How are the majority of visitors accessing these three sites (computer, mobile device, tablet)?

For the vast majority, cell-phones, tablets, and easy-access mobile devices act as man’s new best friend for a constant companionship with whomever they belong to. Easy transportation makes for easy usage, leaving social media users with consistent access to their apps practically anywhere they choose to go! While computers are still utilized popularly, it is understandable that visitors would opt to spend a moment of their day flipping through media on their cell-phone’s app rather than taking the time to search for it on the computer.

https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/

https://mirasee.com/blog/social-media-platforms-2/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-demographics/#:~:text=Understanding%20social%20media%20demographics%20will,right%20people%20with%20your%20message.&text=When%20building%20a%20marketing%20strategy,your%20potential%20audience%20is%20essential..

https://www.businessofapps.com/data/instagram-statistics/

https://www.businessofapps.com/data/twitter-statistics/#:~:text=Twitter%20reports%20daily%20monetizable%20active,450%20million%20monthly%20active%20users.

https://www.businessofapps.com/data/facebook-statistics/#:~:text=Facebook%20Daily%20Active%20Users,or%20Facebook%20Messenger%2C%20or%20website.

https://www.omnicoreagency.com/facebook-statistics/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/#:~:text=As%20of%202022%2C%20the%20majority,even%20ranking%20it%20above%20TikTok.