Immersive media (IM) such as virtual and augmented/mixed reality (V/A/MR) present new ways of experiencing and interacting with virtual, real and hybrid environments. With consumer VR having arrived and several major technology companies preparing AR/MR products and services, there is growing interest in the human aspects linked with these technologies.

While hopes are high for IM being a game changer, important questions regarding its opportunities still remain unanswered: Can we learn faster or deeper using IM? Can AR make the world one large interface and can MR facilitate automated training scenarios in the real-world? Can IM present new ways of communicating and meeting with remote friends? Can it contribute to a better life, can it improve the condition of patients within diagnostics, treatments and rehabilitation? Which are the social and potential societal implications of this new type of telepresence? Is VR gameplay truly more engaging?

But there are also challenges and risks connected to IM: How can we make the hardware less cumbersome and reduce visual discomfort and motion sickness? How can we improve quality of user experience, even with hardware and network limitations? Which are the effects of repeated and long-term use? Are there other health dangers involved related to epilepsy or obesity or potential behavioral hazards such as problematic use or aggression? Are there social hazards such as new forms of sexual and other harassment? And more broadly: will IM improve or deteriorate our quality of life: will it be utopia or black mirror?

The aim of this conference is to zoom in on the potential uses and implications of the arrival of A/M/VR in the everyday life. Researchers from a variety of disciplines interested in the human aspects of immersive media technologies are welcome, including (but not limited to) the fields of communication research, media studies, game studies, sociology, psychology, education studies, human factors engineering, economics, and health / medicine.