Ms Niamh Diver-Hall:

I am excited to be here talking about VR. It is something that has greatly changed my life and I see a huge benefit and change in myself from using it.

I like to compare VR to dreams. When you dream, you can imagine a world. It is so creative. It can be anything. It is similar to virtual reality but you can actually experience it. You remember it. You can structure and change it. It gives you so much power.

Senator Black asked if I have any worries about whether people experience too much online. It all depends on how you use technology and being online. Personally, I do not think it is too much if we use it in a way that develops skills like critical thinking and problem solving, which are so important to our lives. We will use them in work and school. If we can control how much time we spend using technology and being online, it is not too much. The VR group that I am in has one-hour meetings. They are enough for what we need to do. If we have more control over how much time we spend online, it will not be too much.

I thank Senator Currie for her comments. I believe that technology improves employability and helps rural areas. When people think about technology and the Internet, they think about young people playing games but during Covid we were using it for online meetings and work. Technology does not have to be all about fun; it can be but we can use it for other things. We could use it for work. We can help people to stay in rural communities if they want to and not have to move to big cities to find work. This can help small communities to thrive.