hopohopo — An Immersive Virtual Reality Story about Social Anxiety

Hopohopo is a virtual reality experience that follows a day in the life of Hope, a person living with severe social anxiety. The interactive story offers a glimpse into the everyday challenges faced by those affected—such as crowded public transport or speaking in front of a group—using immersive visual, auditory, and haptic cues to engage the viewer.

Designed to raise awareness and understanding, the experience provides basic insights into the clinical picture of social anxiety disorder. It can be especially valuable for friends, family, or caregivers seeking to better understand and support those affected.

The content was co-created with people who have firsthand experience with social anxiety.

Hopohopo is available as a free download on Meta’s Oculus Quest Store here.

The ‚Hopohopo‘ VR experience was developed at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences as part of the ‚Digital Inclusion in the Context of Social Anxiety Disorder (DISA)‘ research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).