Who is widely credited with coining the term “virtual reality” in the 1980s?

Jaron Lanier is widely credited with coining the term “virtual reality” in the 1980s.

Lanier was a computer scientist, musician, and entrepreneur who co-founded VPL Research in 1984. VPL helped turn VR from a laboratory concept into a recognizable commercial field by developing data gloves, head-mounted displays, and software for immersive interaction.

The wording “widely credited” matters because immersive display research began decades earlier. Morton Heilig developed the Sensorama in the 1960s, while Ivan Sutherland created an influential head-mounted display in 1968. Lanier’s contribution was popularizing a memorable name for a broader idea that combined computer-generated worlds with human movement and sensory interaction.

VPL Research later faced financial difficulties, but its vocabulary and hardware influenced the modern VR industry. Lanier continued working on digital culture and wrote extensively about technology’s social effects.