If you had a chance to reconnect with a lost loved one through virtual reality, would you?
It’s now becoming more likely you could, with a South Korean documentary called ‘Meeting You’ broadcasted the heart-warming reunion of a mother with her avatar daughter, who died at the young age of seven.
Jang Ji-Sung, a mother of four, wore a VR headset and gloves that enabled her to see, hear and touch the digitalised version of her daughter. The emotional footage has now gone viral.
Jang was filmed in front of a green screen and formed her hands as though she was holding the girl’s face.
The documentary initially aired on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation and aims to reunite grieving relatives with lost loved ones.
Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported the duo spent time in a digitalised park, while the Daily Mail reported the girl interacted with her mum and told her that she misses her.
The mother grew emotional and replied, ‘I miss you too.’ The girl eventually tells her mother she is tired and falls asleep.
During the filming, Jang’s husband and one of her other children watched on from the audience and were also brought to tears.
‘Maybe it’s a real paradise,’ Jang said. ‘I met Nayeon (her daughter), who called me with a smile, for a very short time, but it’s a very happy time. I think I’ve had the dream I’ve always wanted.’
Dr. Blay Whitby, a technology ethicist from the University of Sussex, told the Mail that the show raises some concern, however. Whitby said the use of virtual reality to reunite with a deceased loved one is new ground and the long-term psychological toll is unknown.
‘We just don’t know the psychological effects of being “reunited” with someone in this way,’ he said.
