Less-is-more: auditory strategies for reduced reality

In this paper, we propose a reduced reality [RR] concept of less-is-more that virtual reality [VR] designers can use to create technological frameworks which reduce sensory overload and allow for better concentration and focus, less stress, and novel scenarios. We question the approach taken by scholars in the field of extended reality [XR] research, where the focus is typically to design and use technology that adds sensory information to the user’s perceptual field, and we address some of the confusion related to the typical uses of the term reality. To address the latter terminological muddle, we define reality as our conscious experience of the environment, an emergent perception, and we use this definition as the basis for a discussion on the role of sound in balancing sensory information and in the construction of less cluttered and less stressful perceptual environments. We further discuss current auditory strategies that reduce and alter auditory stimuli, and we suggest potential future strategies for RR that use crossmodal design approaches, masking, and filtering techniques.