Can VR Help You Overcome Your Fears?

Samsung is always exploring ways that technology can make everyday life easier. Since fear seems to be a barrier in people’s lives, Samsung wanted to know how they could break that barrier. That's why Samsung initiated the experiment 'Face Your Fear', where four Nordic influencers with a fear of spiders got to test how VR could help them cure their fear.

"This technique is supposed to help people achieve their dreams and unleash their full potential. If worries and fears prevent them from doing so it is a waste of human talent, resources and experiences. We all fear something, and if virtual reality can really make people experience things that seemed impossible, than we have already made a difference. I cannot see how we at Samsung can do anything more important than that," says Elin Wallberg, Responsible for social innovation and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Nordic.

The Swedish startup company Mimerse is exploring the possibilities with VR combined with psychology to cure fears. With support from Samsung, Mimerse developed the Itsy app, which lets users face their fear with VR. The app is used with the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Gear VR.