--- description: Zuckerberg explained a photo showing the Facebook CEO walking unnoticed among a swarm of technology reporters using virtual reality . title: Mark Zuckerberg Explains That Creepy Virtual Reality Photo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mark Zuckerberg Explains That Creepy Virtual Reality Photo  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 29, 2016 3:02 PM CUT  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 29, 2016 3:02 PM CUT In an interview with German media executive Mathias Döpfner, Mark Zuckerberg [explained](http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-interview-with-axel-springer-ceo-mathias-doepfner-2016-2?op=1 "undefined") a photo showing the Facebook CEO walking unnoticed among a swarm of technology reporters using virtual reality (VR) at a conference. Some observers said the photo was creepy, like a glimpse into a dystopian future where people are cut off from the real world, opting instead to spend their time in VR. But Zuckerberg says the photo doesn’t tell the whole story. Here are his comments, [via](http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-interview-with-axel-springer-ceo-mathias-doepfner-2016-2?op=1 "undefined") _Business Insider_: --- > “” --- Facebook in 2014 [acquired virtual reality firm Oculus VR](http://time.com/39577/facebook-oculus-vr-inside-story/ "undefined") in a $2 billion deal. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4241127/mark-zuckerberg-virtual-reality/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4241127/mark-zuckerberg-virtual-reality/"},"headline":"Mark Zuckerberg Explains That Creepy Virtual Reality Photo","datePublished":"2016-02-29T15:02:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:31.137Z","description":"People said it looked like a dystopian sci-fi future","url":"https://time.com/4241127/mark-zuckerberg-virtual-reality/","keywords":["Tech","facebook","Mark Zuckerberg","Virtual Reality"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4241127/mark-zuckerberg-virtual-reality/","name":"Mark Zuckerberg Explains That Creepy Virtual Reality Photo"}}]}] ```