There's no shortage of stories these days about how tech companies are making—or tacitly allowing their most nefarious users to make—the world a more disturbing place.
But here's one that might earn a few fans for one of Silicon Valley's biggest names: Google.
In recent years, Google has been using its resources to fight against mass incarceration, a criminal-justice trend that often disproportionately hits minority communities. In 2018, for example, Google banned bail bond services from running ads on its platforms.
Now YouTube has partnered with the nonprofit Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth for a VR project that offers an empathetic and unnerving look into the lives of minors sent to prison.
"Think back to when you were 13," begins the VR video's narration. "You're not old enough to drive. You're not old enough to see certain movies. You're not old enough to make many of your own decisions. You're not treated like an adult because...you're not an adult."
What follows is a potent perspective on how teens and even younger children can be shackled and traumatized by being treated as adults in prison.
VR has often been used to create empathetic bonds between the viewers and those in less fortunate situations. Hopefully this one will help everyone understand the dark sides of when being "tough on crime" can drift darkly into a system that breeds lifelong trauma rather than rehabilitation.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
