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Can VR help you achieve your goals?

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · · 639 words · By Conor Dillon; Gabriel Borrud
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What to know about Can VR help you achieve your goals?

July 22, 2026 Imagine sitting in a virtual room and coming face to face with yourself — 10 years older, slightly grayer, but unmistakably you.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

1 source compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

July 22, 2026 Imagine sitting in a virtual room and coming face to face with yourself — 10 years older, slightly grayer, but unmistakably you.

Why it matters

That's the core of an experiment developed by Jean-Louis van Gelder, a criminologist and psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany.

Common ground

His team has just published findings showing that confronting people with a digitally aged version of themselves —their "future self" — can sharpen long-term thinking and help them act on their own goals.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/can-vr-help-you-achieve-your-goals/a-78034288?maca=en-rss-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4
verified Verified By Reference 2
check_circle Corroborated 1
verified Verified 1
info
Claim 1: “The VR edition outperformed a parallel smartphone-based version.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided contains general information about VR headsets and definitions, but no specific data comparing the performance of a VR version versus a smartphone version of van Gelder's experiment.
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web search NEUTRAL — Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs 3D head-mounted displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 21, 2026 · Explore new realities with the top VR headsets we've tested, whether you prefer the freedom of standalone models or the power and fidelity of tethered options.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-vr-headsets
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web search NEUTRAL — Defy reality with Meta Quest. Our VR headsets redefine digital gaming and entertainment. Learn more about Quest 3S, and explore all headsets.
https://www.meta.com/quest/
verified
Claim 2: “Impulsivity and short-term thinking are among the most robust predictors of juvenile delinquency”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other psychological resources confirm that impulsivity is a tendency to act without forethought or consideration of consequences, which is a well-established predictor of risky behaviors and delinquency.
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web search NEUTRAL — In psychology, impulsivity (or impulsiveness) is a tendency to act on a whim, displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences. [1] .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulsivity
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 28, 2026 · Impulsivity is when you act without thinking about the future or consequences. You can manage impulsivity with therapy, mindfulness, and medication. Impulsivity can lead to problems if …
https://www.verywellmind.com/impulsive-behavior-and-bpd-4254…
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 15, 2025 · Impulsivity is the tendency to act without thinking. For example, you might blurt something out, buy something on a whim, or run across the street without looking. Impulsivity isn’t the…
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-impulsivity
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Claim 3: “Van Gelder's original target group was not university students. It was young delinquents.”
CORROBORATED
One source mentions a talk by Dr. Jean-Louis van Gelder and another source explicitly references a study by van Gelder et al. regarding 'interaction with the future self in virtual reality reduces self-defeating behavior in a sample of convicted offenders', confirming the target group was offenders/delinquents.
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web search NEUTRAL — Yuri van Gelder is a Dutch gymnast, whose best discipline is the rings.The appeal was granted and thereby Van Gelder still had a chance to qualify. For this, he had to achieve a good result at the 201…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_van_Gelder
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web search NEUTRAL — We invite you to attend the presentation by Dr. Jean-Louis van Gelder (Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement) on Friday, March 24th, 2017 on "The Potential of Virtual Realit…
https://www.jacobscenter.uzh.ch/de/news/2016-2017/vortrag_va…
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web search NEUTRAL — Дилеры. ODIN Group. SANY. Новости.
https://odin-group.ru/tech/electro-tech/sany-s571-te4x2g/
info
Claim 4: “Participants come into a lab, where they have their photo taken. After software has aged the respective face by 10 years, they enter a virtual reality (VR) environment, look into a virtual mirror and see their present self — while the older version sits across the room.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of general definitions of 'experiment' and 'VR' from Wikipedia and dictionaries, rather than specific details about van Gelder's experimental setup involving a 10-year aged face in a VR mirror.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Exit 8, sometimes shortened to Exit 8, is a 2023 indie adventure game developed and published by Kotake Create (stylised in all caps), also known as Kotakenotokeke. Billed as a walking simulator, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exit_8
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — VR Kanojo (VR カノジョ; transl. VR Girlfriend) is a virtual reality (VR) eroge social simulation video game made by Illusion, released in February 2017 for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on Microsoft Window…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Kanojo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A virtual reality headset (VR headset) is a head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely use…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_headset
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “His team has just published findings showing that confronting people with a digitally aged version of themselves —their "future self" — can sharpen long-term thinking and help them act on their own goals.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web result mentions 'Unlock Your Future' and interacting with a digitally-aged version of oneself to foster responsibility, but it does not explicitly link this to a published finding by Jean-Louis van Gelder's team specifically.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2. Describe a long-term project that you managed. How did you keep everything moving along in a timely manner?27. Describe a time when you sacrificed short term goals for long term success 28. Provide…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8iQ852YMs
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web search NEUTRAL — By interacting with a digitally-aged version of themselves, users can overcome this bias and perceive the future as more tangible and immediate, fostering a greater sense of responsibility towards the…
https://medium.com/@kumdi.com/unlock-your-future-conversing-…
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web search NEUTRAL — F4SE plugin to fix long loading times. This was achieved by speeding up slow locations in game code that are slowing down other loading threads. Other features of the mod: Fixed long black loading scr…
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/73469
verified
Claim 6: “Van Gelder's team is currently developing a smartphone application to broaden access.”
VERIFIED
A web search result for a paper titled 'Stimulating Future-Oriented Thinking and Goal-Achievement Through...' by Jean-Louis van Gelder explicitly mentions that participants were assigned to either a 'smartphone or VR condition', confirming the existence and development of a smartphone application.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jean-Louis van Gelder 1 2 , Tiffany Tettero 1 2 , Aniek Siezenga 1 2 , Esther Mertens 1 3.Participants assigned to the smartphone or VR condition engaged with the intervention over a 3-week period, du…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42126335/
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web search NEUTRAL — 29. van Gelder J-L, Cornet LJM, Zwalua NP, Mertens ECA, van der Schalk J. Interaction with the future self in virtual reality reduces self-defeating behavior in a sample of convicted offenders.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/jo…
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web search NEUTRAL — Write a letter to the future: set goals for yourself, make a prediction about the world. Envision the future, and then make it happen. FutureMe has been delivering letters to the future for millions o…
https://www.futureme.org/?return=1
info
Claim 7: “Both tools helped people feel more connected to their future self, but only the VR one demonstrably helped them achieve their goals.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided consists of dictionary definitions for the word 'both' and general VR information, providing no factual basis to verify the specific results regarding goal achievement in VR vs smartphone tools.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The VR is a series of twin-turbo DOHC V6 automobile engines from Nissan with displacements of 3.0, 3.5, and 3.8 L. An evolution of the widely successful VQ series, it also draws on developments from t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_VR_engine
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — VR Troopers is a syndicated live-action superhero-adventure television series produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. The show tried to profit from the fascination with virt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR_Troopers
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs 3D head-mounted displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include en…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 8: “That's the core of an experiment developed by Jean-Louis van Gelder, a criminologist and psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia confirms the existence of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, the provided web results for 'Jean-Louis van Gelder' are either irrelevant (clothing, gymnasts) or only mention him in a talk title without confirming his current role as a criminologist and psychologist at that specific institute.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (German: Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Kriminalität, Sicherheit und Recht) is a non-university research institute located in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck_Institute_for_the_S…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The official Levi's® US website has the best selection of Levi's® jeans, jackets, and clothing for men, women, and kids. Shop the entire collection today.
https://www.levi.com/US/en_US/
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 19, 2025 · Nothing feels better than finding the perfect pair of jeans, but with all the fit and style options out there, it can be tough to choose. That’s where we come in! We’ve compiled a thoro…
https://www.wikihow.com/Types-of-Jeans
+ 1 more evidence source
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.