When I first moved to Los Angeles almost 11 years ago, I ran a study tour for media executives on Virtual Reality. At the time, I was completely spellbound by the possibilities of immersive media. You could step inside a story, feel the tension, look around, and absorb the world in a way no flat screen could ever replicate.

I even helped build a couple of early experiences with Nonny de la Peña — often called the “Godmother of VR.” It felt like the future of storytelling had arrived.

Except, it didn’t.

Headsets have always been too clunky, too heavy, too isolating. Apple’s Vision Pro is by far the most advanced we’ve seen (and genuinely impressive tech — more here), but even that feels a long way from mainstream adoption.

Would an immersive movie be great? Absolutely. But would most of us rather sit alone in a headset than experience something with friends, family, or a shared audience? Probably not.

Tilt Brush, a 3D painting tool now owned by Google, was the one VR experience that truly captured me. Painting in 3D space is mesmerising, almost meditative. It’s creative and therapeutic. But it still wasn’t enough reason to buy or wear a headset regularly.

When I tried Meta’s new AR glasses recently, I had high hopes. I’ve been wearing the Meta Ray-Ban smartglasses for a year, and they’ve quietly become part of my routine. The AR version, though, adds a layer of complexity that feels more like distraction than progress.

The technology is undeniably impressive: A wristband lets you swipe and select by tapping your fingers together, and it works remarkably well. But I don’t want Instagram or e-mails floating in my vision. Most of what the glasses do on-screen can be done better, and more naturally, through audio commands or voice assistants.

And there’s the social problem: The uncanny feeling when you’re talking to someone who’s half-looking through you, eyes fixed on something only they can see. We already spend too much time half-present with our screens. Do we really want that screen glued to our faces?

That said, some of the motion control tech, like Apple’s double-tap gesture on the Watch, makes perfect sense. Subtle, efficient, and genuinely useful. I suspect we’ll see more of that evolve, without the need for headgear.

There are great applications for AR and VR, just not in news media. Matterport, for instance, started with the idea of taking people “inside” stories but found a stronger market in real estate and design. Immersive 3D tours make perfect sense when you’re buying a house, less so when you’re catching up on the day’s headlines.

So yes, I was wrong about AR and VR — or at least about how far they’d go in storytelling. The tech is stunning, the demos are magical, but the day-to-day utility just isn’t there for most people.

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