I wasn’t going to write anything today. It’s been a very difficult week. In a short time, I have gone from hiring a carer for 3 hours a day, to needing somebody 24 hours a day for my elderly parents.
Technology is part of everything we do, but it doesn’t help much with basic care. There are some useful devices, like smart watches that monitor for falls. But we’re still a long way from humanoid robots that can look after people.
Walk a mile in their shoes
In my search for advice and devices, I read about an unusual application of virtual reality. I have no experience with VR other than the odd video or article. So I think of VR as something for simulated training, or enhanced gaming, or a way to have an exciting virtual experience.
In the medical field, VR must be great for surgical training. But some people are using VR as an empathy tool. The VR application simulates what it is like to be, for example, an aging person dealing with Alzheimers. The purpose is to help doctors and caregivers develop deeper empathy. This will, in turn, improve the way they deliver care.
I was struck by this use of technology to make us more human. After all, everybody is a "me".
Us vs them
In the 1970’s, a British psychologist named Henri Tajfel identified a human instinct that he called the social identity theory. It’s easy to understand: we divide the world into "us" and “them”.
This social identity gives us a sense of belonging, and enables us to work together against a common threat. Unfortunately, it is also the core of every negative social divide.
We don’t like to admit it, but experiments show this social identity is quick and easy to create. We exaggerate what makes us similar, as well as what makes us different.
In the IT environment, there are plenty of examples of us vs them. Users vs developers. Managers vs developers. Seniors vs juniors. Front-end vs backend.
When the user / junior / senior / manager / customer / developer next annoys you, imagine life from their perspective. Just for today, put on an imaginary VR headset. We all need a little more empathy.