The Psychosocial Reality of Digital Travel : Being in Virtual Places

This open access book takes a fresh look at the nature of the digital travel experience, at a time when more and more people are engaged in online social interaction, games, and other virtual experiences essentially involving online visits to other places. It examines whether these experiences can seem real to the virtual traveller and, if so, under what conditions and on what grounds. The book unpacks philosophical theories relevant to the feeling of being somewhere, emphasising the importance of perception and __being-in-the-world__. Notions of place are outlined, based on work in tourism studies, human geography, and other applied social fields, with an aim to investigate how and when different experiences of place arise for the traveller and how these relate to telepresence – the sense of __being there__in another place through digital media__.__Findings from recent empirical studies of digital travel are presented, including a survey from which the characteristics of “digital travellers” are identified. A review of selected interactive design trends and possibilities leads to the conclusion, which draws these strands together and looks to the future of this topical and expanding field. Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction Why Digital Travel? The Mind of the Digital Traveller A Roadmap for the Book References 2 Being Somewhere Introduction The Nature of Experiences, and of Experiences of Other Places The Philosophy of Perceptual Experience Four Philosophical Views on the Nature of Perceptual Experiences The Representational View Relationism Enactivism The Sense-data View Summary of the Four Theories Dual Process Theories and Intuitive Judgment The Spinozan Model of Rapid Acceptance Response Everyday Activities in the World: Transparency and Embodiment Heidegger and Modes of Engaging with the World Transparency Embodiment Presence and the Direct Perception Approach Summary and Conclusions References 3 Feeling Present in Virtual Environments Introduction Conceptualisations of Telepresence: Being Present at a Distance The Illusion of non-Mediation Pretending the Digital Is Physical Experiencing a Convincing Simulated Semblance (of Physical Reality) Telepresence and Perceptual Illusions Perception, Imagination and Attention Presence as the Feeling of Attending to a Surrounding External World Social Interaction and Affordances for Presence Interacting with Other People Activities in Place: The Role of Affordances Implications For Digital Travel References 4 Visiting Places Introduction Sense of Place Spaces and Places Human Geography and Edwards Relph’s Place Theory Marketing and Hedonic Consumption Intention to Visit a Place and Word of Mouth Experiencing Sense of Place in a Virtual Environment Insights from Non-digital Travel and Tourism Conclusions References 5 The Reality of Digital Travel Introduction Digital Travel and Sense of Place The Use of Video Games and Photo-Realism Creating a Sightseeing Experience in a Video Game A Virtual Visit to Los Angeles The Sightseers’ Experience of Telepresence and Sense of Place Results—Virtual Sightseers Had the Feeling of Being There in the City Digital Travel Applications—A Survey on Behaviours and Attitudes Conclusions References 6 When the Virtual Becomes Real? Introduction Recent Innovations in Digital Travel Social Telepresence Robots and Drones Immersive VR Approaches and the Use of Holograms Rethinking Digital Travel Metaphors and the Blending of Physical-Digital Realities Reflecting on Our Journey so Far, and Our Plans References Index This open access book takes a fresh look at the nature of the digital travel experience, at a time when more and more people are engaged in online social interaction, games, and other virtual experiences essentially involving online visits to other places. It examines whether these experiences can seem real to the virtual traveller and, if so, under what conditions and on what grounds. The book unpacks philosophical theories relevant to the feeling of being somewhere, emphasising the importance of perception and being-in-the-world. Notions of place are outlined, based on work in tourism studies, human geography, and other applied social fields, with an aim to investigate how and when different experiences of place arise for the traveller and how these relate to telepresence - the sense of being there in another place through digital media. Findings from recent empirical studies of digital travel are presented, including a survey from which the characteristics of "digital travellers" are identified. A review of selected interactive design trends and possibilities leads to the conclusion, which draws these strands together and looks to the future of this topical and expanding field. Ingvar Tjostheim, PhD, is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Computing Center. John A. Waterworth PhD, CPsychol. is a consultant, writer and researcher. He is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Informatics, Umeå University, Sweden