Immersive Journalism: The Effect of System Immersion on Place Illusion and Co-Presence in 360-Degree Video Reporting
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Virtual Reality and 360-Degree Video in Journalism
1.2. Definitions: Immersion, Presence, Place Illusion
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Stimulus
2.2. Participants
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Measures
2.5. Non-Participant Observation
3. Results
3.1. What the Quantitative Data Shows
3.1.1. Place Illusion: Spatial Presence and Involvement
3.1.2. Sense of Co-Presence
3.1.3. Place Illusion and Sense of Co-Presence
3.1.4. Mediation
3.2. What Qualitative Data Reveal
3.2.1. Wearability/Usability
3.2.2. The Novelty Effect
3.2.3. The 90–180-Degree of Framing
4. Discussion and Conclusions
4.1. Immersive Journalism, Technological Systems, and Immersion Modalities
4.2. Immersive Storytelling and Narrativity in Journalism
4.3. Limitations and Further Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | Categories | Tablet (N = 52) | VR Shark X4 (N = 52) | Total (N = 104) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | % | Frequency | % | Frequency | % | ||
Gender | Male | 25 | 48.08% | 20 | 38.46% | 45 | 43.27% |
Female | 27 | 51.92% | 32 | 61.54% | 59 | 56.73% | |
Non-binary | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Age | <19 | - | - | 14 | 26.92% | 14 | 13.46% |
20–24 | 12 | 23.08% | 11 | 21.15% | 23 | 22.12% | |
25–29 | 11 | 21.15% | 6 | 11.54% | 17 | 16.35% | |
30–34 | 4 | 7.69% | 4 | 7.69% | 8 | 7.69% | |
35–39 | 9 | 17.31% | 11 | 21.15% | 20 | 19.23% | |
40–44 | 2 | 3.85% | 1 | 1.92% | 3 | 2.88% | |
45–49 | 10 | 19.23% | 1 | 1.92% | 11 | 10.58% | |
50–54 | 3 | 5.77% | - | - | 3 | 2.88% | |
55–59 | - | - | 3 | 5.77% | 3 | 2.88% | |
>60 | 1 | 1.92% | 1 | 1.92% | 2 | 1.92% | |
Mean | 34.59 | 29.45 | 32.02 | ||||
SD | 11.02 | 11.67 | 11.58 | ||||
Level of education | Baccalaureate | 1 | 1.92% | 12 | 23.08% | 13 | 12.50% |
Vocational training | 4 | 7.69% | 2 | 3.85% | 6 | 5.77% | |
Degree | 18 | 34.62% | 20 | 38.46% | 38 | 36.54% | |
Master | 18 | 34.62% | 14 | 26.92% | 32 | 30.77% | |
PhD | 11 | 21.15% | 4 | 7.69% | 15 | 14.42% | |
Prior experience with VR headsets | Yes | 32 | 61.54% | 22 | 42.31% | 54 | 51.92% |
No | 20 | 38.46% | 29 | 55.77% | 49 | 47.12% | |
Do not know/Do not remember | - | - | 1 | 1.92% | 1 | 0.96% | |
Prior viewing of 360° videos with a mobile device | Yes | 36 | 69.23% | 40 | 76.92% | 76 | 73.08% |
No | 14 | 26.92% | 12 | 23.08% | 26 | 25.00% | |
Do not know/Do not remember | 2 | 3.85% | - | - | 2 | 1.92% |
Variables | Subscales | Items |
---|---|---|
Place Illusion (Cronbach’s α = 0.840) | Spatial Presence (Cronbach’s α = 0.812) | When watching the video, I had a sense of “being there”, in the story environment |
There were times during the experience when the video world became more real or present for me compared to the “real world” | ||
I felt like I was visiting the places in the video environment | ||
When watching the video, I felt that my body was in the room, but my mind was inside the world that was presented in the story | ||
When the video ended, I felt like I came back to the “real world” after a journey | ||
Involvement (Cronbach’s α = 0.783) | While I was watching the video, I was not aware of my real, physical environment | |
While navigating the virtual world, I was aware of the real world surrounding me (i.e., sounds, room temperature, other people, etc.) | ||
Co-presence (Cronbach’s α = 0.861) | When watching the video, I had a sense of being together with the characters in the story | |
There were times during which I felt like I was directly interacting with characters in the story | ||
I felt the characters in the story were aware of my presence | ||
When being face to face with the people of the story, I felt like they were talking to me | ||
When being face to face with the people of the story, I felt like they were staring at me |
Mediating Mechanism | Indirect Effect | Boot SE | Boot 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|
Spatial presence | 0.38 | 0.13 | [0.12, 0.64] |
Involvement | 0.31 | 0.11 | [0.12, 0.53] |
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Pérez-Seijo, S.; Vicente, P.N.; López-García, X. Immersive Journalism: The Effect of System Immersion on Place Illusion and Co-Presence in 360-Degree Video Reporting. Systems 2023, 11, 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11010001
Pérez-Seijo S, Vicente PN, López-García X. Immersive Journalism: The Effect of System Immersion on Place Illusion and Co-Presence in 360-Degree Video Reporting. Systems. 2023; 11(1):1. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11010001
Chicago/Turabian StylePérez-Seijo, Sara, Paulo Nuno Vicente, and Xosé López-García. 2023. "Immersive Journalism: The Effect of System Immersion on Place Illusion and Co-Presence in 360-Degree Video Reporting" Systems 11, no. 1: 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11010001
APA StylePérez-Seijo, S., Vicente, P. N., & López-García, X. (2023). Immersive Journalism: The Effect of System Immersion on Place Illusion and Co-Presence in 360-Degree Video Reporting. Systems, 11(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11010001