Wanna feel conflicted? Watch this video. 

Samsung Bedtime VR Stories are stories parent and child can read and experience together with the use of their VR headset. Yes, that simple. Going away on business trips now seems a little less taxing on the family unit. 

Samsung has done something really cool- attempted to solve an actual problem using technology. I use the word attempted because I don't think it's a perfect solution yet but it's a big step in the right direction. I was conflicted watching the video because when it comes to parenting I'm still a bit of a traditionalist and hope that I will be able to do these things in person. I think that's the way it should be, but between this and the Hololens use case, we can fulfill our alpha female/male ambitions and never have to choose! Or so we think. Anyway, by the time I have a child you'll probably be able to tickle people in VR.

Though this video illustrates the use case for upper middle class families, I can also see this being a great solution for low to middle income families. 

Overseas workers 
Parents work abroad and send money home to children. These parents often have very long periods of time without going home (read: years and years). They can now experience at least part of their child's childhood. 

Military/People in the service 
Parents living abroad while serving their country can still have experiences with their kids. 

Low Income Families 
Parents who work multiple jobs, rarely home. Maybe you can read to your child for 10 minutes during a break. Maybe this is creepy, but what if there were a repository of parent read recordings a latchkey child could access? 

Thoughts? 

More information on Samsung Bedtime VR Stories

I recently watched a demo showcasing Microsoft Hololens where a father is able to play with his daughter remotely- it looks like she's there and they are interacting in real time. It has been the most practical and impressive use of AR technology I've seen. It was straight out of Star Wars but even cooler. 

In an increasingly global landscape where people are more transient than ever, it's people and specific human connection that we yearn for.

People all over the world and across various socio-economic statuses all have long distance relationships of the family, friends, work, or romantic sort. That makes nearly the entire world the possible user. Everyone wants something that is not within physical proximity, whether it be a person, place, or thing, and that is the power of this technology. 

The headset, which debuted just a few weeks ago, is pricer than the Oculus Rift; it costs 3,000 USD for the developer kit. More information on the buzz about it happened at Build 2016.