Studies show that our ability to empathise has greatly diminished over the last 30 years. It’s due in part to the uptake of smartphones and social media – we’re all too busy thinking about ourselves. But while it might be part of the problem, could technology also be used to make us more empathetic?

Cloud over Sidra is the United Nations' first ever virtual reality film. It follows a twelve-year-old girl – named Sidra – who lives in the Za’atari camp in Jordan, and is designed to support a UN campaign highlighting the vulnerable state that is refugee life.

The allure of a virtual world – in which anyone could have magical powers and take risks without consequences – is evidenced by the fact that nearly 19 million people play video games in the UK alone. Canvas8 sat down with Dr. Andrew Kuo to understand why we actively escape into virtual worlds.

Tech has transformed how we study, socialise and partake in sport – and it’s also having a huge impact on storytelling. Yet predictions that e-readers and video would supersede the written word have proven simplistic. So how exactly are the ways we write, publish and read stories changing?