My son loves elevators. I call him Elevator Jones. Before COVID we’d go to the malls, office buildings, hotels, Metro, and anywhere else that elevators existed and take dozens of rides. We would record the outing with my phone, a video camera, or my trusty Samsung Gear 360.

We cannot go anywhere during this pandemic. He does not quite understand what this means, though he accepts it…to a point. He keeps asking when we can go back to visit the mall, ride the elevators at the office building, and stay at hotels again. I do not have an answer for him.

In my earlier post Escaping with Virtual Reality I wrote about using XR—Virtual Reality (VR) specifically—for social and entertainment. An extension of that is getting away. For my son that has a therapeutic effect.

If you have videos, use ‘em

We had taken quite a few videos before the pandemic happened, both regular style and 360-degree videos. He already loved reviewing those videos at home on his iPad and in our Oculus Quest VR headset. Now they are critical.

You may already have some photos and videos you’ve taken in the past. If you’re lucky you have some 360 videos too. Either way, you can pop them into your VR headset and immerse yourself in another world. A pre-COVID world.

He loves watching videos we took together of elevators, my office, and the amusement park. While he would prefer to go there in person, this is an effective stand in for the real thing. At least for now.

The Internet of Content

If you do not happen to have photos and videos you can use there is plenty to find on the internet, including videos of the 360-degree variety.

In fact, if you are an elevator buff like my son there are literally thousands if not millions of elevator videos on YouTube to enjoy. YouTubers such as Diesel Ducy, JimLiElevators, and Floridian Elevators have been posting videos for years. There are hundreds if not thousands more. They have massive followings online. It’s a beautiful community. I started the Elevator Jones channel on YouTube to add to the pile. Maybe one day I’ll be able to add more.

My son also loves malls. There are videos from folks such as Dan Bell and Sal that document the rise and decline of malls. This is a topic that fascinates me too. I grew up in the mall era. I love watching videos of dying malls, abandoned malls, closed malls. Another great escape are videos of abandoned places by the likes of Mobile Instinct and Bright Sun Films.

Getting into the 360-degree and VR side of things, check out the YouTube VR site. NextVR also looks promising, but we may have to wait and see what Apple does with them. Check out AFS-USA Explore. Companies like Ascape are making VR videos for the travel industry and many of these are on YouTube VR.

Give it a try

Just because you are stuck at home and not able to go to your favorite destinations does not mean you cannot visit those places. Pull out the photos and videos you took. Put them on your VR headset. Find some new content online. Try out a new VR travel app.

The world is still out there. You just need to look.