Virtual reality: harm or benefit. Are virtual reality glasses harmful to vision?

Any technological device, especially one used in everyday life, is assessed from several points of view, where the important thing is how harmful it can be to humans. This approach to technical innovations has a long history. Even at the time of the birth of the same cars, people were worried about their safety, as they were afraid of these noisy carriages without horses.

With modern devices everything is much simpler - they do not pose a danger to human life, but can threaten his health. For example, prolonged sitting in front of a computer monitor causes vision impairment. What are the dangers of virtual reality glasses, which are essentially head-mounted monitors? Does long-term use lead to decreased vision? Are there any other dangers from such devices? Let's try to answer these questions.

It is believed that the use of Oculus Rift glasses does not lead to loss of vision and, moreover, they cause only a small degree of eye fatigue. No, the eyes get tired, but not as much as when using computer monitors, which is due to the so-called fixed gaze. Looking at the monitor means being at the same distance from the object of viewing, which is avoided in the Oculus Rift. Focusing vision with the help of this type of glasses is characterized by variability, since the displayed picture constantly changes its distance, which provides the necessary movement of the pupils, which is comparable to how it happens in Everyday life without using various devices.

In this regard, we can talk about the absence of direct threats from Oculus Rift. Danger in in this case arises from something else. Immersion in the virtual world leads to the user losing a sense of reality. As a result, there may be problems with the vestibular apparatus. Therefore, it is advisable to take regular breaks during gameplay, which will restore “lost” body functions and give rest to the eyes. Also important is the furnishings of the room used to be in the virtual space. Try to get rid of unnecessary interior items that could cause you to trip and fall. And the configuration of the room itself can be somewhat dangerous if, for example, there are sharp corners of the walls.

To summarize, we can state the complete safety of Oculus Rift glasses in relation to the health of the player, if the measure of their use is observed, since many hours of isolation from real world difficult to consider as something reasonable and useful.

“It’s not comfortable or healthy to constantly use a monitor right in front of your eyes.”

This solution provides eye-friendly use of virtual reality technology. It seems to the human eye that we are looking at an image that is at a sufficient distance. The length of this virtual gap may vary for each device. For example, in Oculus Rift DK1 the optical image is infinitely far away. And in Oculus Rift DK2 creates the illusion that it is located approximately 1.4 meters.

This article describes the operation of lenses in ideal conditions. Not all virtual reality devices can provide them. Therefore, sometimes some kind of interference occurs. For example, geometric distortion and chromatic aberration. We'll talk about them next time.

The note:

Having been working for almost a year now Russian market virtual reality in our club visited more than 3000 people, who for the first time tried to immerse themselves and experience all the sensations from helmets, controllers, simulators and virtual reality games. We conducted surveys and tests of VR headsets in focus groups, found out opinions and analyzed the results from large quantity Virtuality Club visitors. Based on our practice, we have concluded that the vast majority of players who try virtual reality leave with positive impressions. Only 15% of the total number of respondents reported minor discomfort after using the product Oculus Rift DK2. Most of the negative feelings are inherent in players who use glasses and suffer from vision problems. IN this moment The DK2 comes with additional lenses for people with slight myopia, but we hope that helmet developers in future versions will come up with a lens mechanism that adapts to people with visual impairments.

On March 28, the era of virtual reality officially began. The first new generation Oculus Rift helmet has gone on sale.

The possibility of maximum immersion into a fictional three-dimensional world has long attracted bigwigs from the entertainment sector and IT, but no one has yet succeeded in making a mass-produced virtual reality device. Thanks to the Oculus Rift helmet, March 28 may be the date such a device appears.

However, no matter how new it is or its competitors in the form of HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR and Sony PlayStation Whether VR will succeed or fail, the obvious fact is that these headsets can create such a strong illusion of being in virtual world, like no device before. Of course, we do not take into consideration specialized virtual reality complexes in the service of military and special civilian services.

All these years, virtual reality was outside the mass market, and participants in laboratory experiments were, by default, observed by many specialists, if only because of the enormous cost of the equipment. Entering the mass market of VR devices ( common abbreviation forVirtual Reality - literally "virtual reality") poses questions to society that manufacturers of these devices are in no hurry to answer: how safe it is, what are the rules of use, and whether the majority of consumers can really use virtual reality helmets without harm to their health.

This “frivolity” can be explained by two main reasons. The main and main prosaic thing is the pursuit of commercial gain, because the sooner a product is released, the more money the manufacturer will earn and the larger market share it will be able to win. It would seem that regulatory authorities should limit the appetite for profit, but here the manufacturers of VR helmets have prepared a saving excuse: formally, virtual reality helmets have been produced for decades and have not caused any significant problems for users.

New or well forgotten old?

Here, however, two circumstances need to be clarified. Without exception, all helmets of previous generations failed in the mass market and were distributed in a maximum circulation of several thousand, which means that there can be no talk of any mass experience of use. And secondly: they could not boast of such an impact on humans as the new generation of devices.

By and large, previous attempts to transfer the player into virtual space boiled down to the fact that a static monitor screen was reduced and turned into a low-quality helmet screen in front of the player’s eyes, sometimes with some stereoscopy (volume vision) effect. The fundamental difference between the new generation of devices is that they quite accurately convey the movement of the head in virtual space, and some models even recognize the movement of the player in the room, including his hands, and correlate it with the game character.

This seemingly small detail radically changes the user’s perception: the brain quickly begins to associate itself with the virtual body (protagonist), and this association is fundamentally more complete than when reading a picture from a monitor or TV. But this also implies a whole series of potential problems and threats, starting with dizziness and nausea, which almost all owners of new products experience, ending with possible mental disorders after long-term use in games associated, for example, with violence. In order to determine the possible harm and benefits of virtual reality helmets, we talked with experts in the field of psychology and psychotherapy, and also conducted several experiments.

Can a new generation virtual reality helmet harm the psyche?

Olga Dobrushina, neurologist, CEO International Institute psychosomatic health:

- Can a computer game, film or book harm the psyche? There are many factors here - it all depends on the type of personality, on how much a person is immersed in the virtual environment. A virtual reality helmet probably does provide a greater immersion effect compared to a computer, but this issue still needs scientific evidence. Among the side effects of VR helmets, which are indicated by the manufacturers themselves, are dizziness and nausea, and in very rare cases (1 in 4000) - convulsions and epileptic seizures.

However, we can already state that people with disabilities should use the helmet with caution. psychological disorders such as perception disorders, problems in mental development etc. Those who are depressed or have an anxiety disorder should also avoid wearing a helmet.

We were able to draw such conclusions thanks to our extensive experience working with these devices: our institution has been cooperating for several years with the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University, where research is being conducted on virtual reality and its impact on humans.

The neurologist especially noted that, as in the case of computer games, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between real life and virtual life: do not run away into a beautiful virtual world from solving problems. And the main risk group here are children and adolescents, as well as people with a tendency to addictive behavior. However, to confirm the thesis that a helmet is more harmful than some more familiar means of computer leisure, there are not enough statistics on its use and specialized research.

Sergey Martynov, psychotherapist, general director of the Prosvet center for psychological assistance :

My advice to anyone who has doubts before using a VR headset is not to be lazy and consult with a psychotherapist familiar with negative impact VR Despite the fact that the technology is really new and there is no medical practice yet, a psychotherapist will probably be able to point you to possible complications or negative effects that may occur specifically for you.

The universal warnings are as follows: pregnant women, elderly people and people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, epilepsy and other severe mental illnesses, as well as visual impairments should refrain from virtual reality. Children under 13 years of age should not play with helmets, or use them under adult supervision. Playing for long periods of time is not a good idea for anyone, regardless of gender or age, as it can negatively impact hand-eye coordination, balance, and the ability to multitask.

The International Institute of Psychosomatic Health was one of the first in Russia to begin treating certain mental disorders by immersing the patient in virtual reality. We did not fail to take advantage of the experience of the institute’s specialists and carried out several experiments. The first of them was devoted to a therapy session with the participation of a patient suffering from arachnophobia (pathological fear of spiders).

As it turned out, in addition to various phobias, VR helmets are used to treat anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as to diagnose and train cognitive functions (memory, attention, spatial thinking, etc.). Particularly effective is the treatment of aerophobia, a common disorder in which a person is afraid of using airplanes.

In the most severe cases, panic attacks occur even at the sight of some parts of the interior of the aircraft cabin. Thanks to virtual reality technology, the patient is first shown toy models of airplanes, then more and more similar to real planes, invite a person to go inside the plane, take off, and gradually increase the time of the virtual flight. In combination with psychotherapy, you can get very good and quick results.

However, here lies one of the most great dangers- According to official statistics alone, there are now more than 10 million patients in the world suffering from various phobias. If we consider that a considerable part of people do not recognize their mental disorder, the actual number may increase several times. And since modern virtual reality helmets immerse you in a situation so well that they can be a medicine, it means that their uncontrolled use can cause comparable harm.

A person who has, say, a hidden fear of open spaces (agoraphobia) suddenly finds himself in a gaming situation in the middle of huge field and goes into a state of panic. Such stressful situation depending on the strength of the impact, it can provoke side effects- from short-term perception disorder and poor health to a heart attack.

Alas, the “bright” side is best studied new technology- that is, its use in psychotherapy. All experts agree that there are neither sufficient statistics nor clinical studies to introduce any regulatory rules. However, we can give recommendations that could protect you and your loved ones.

First of all, you should be honest with yourself, if you know about any problems, even if you yourself do not consider them serious, carefully study the multimedia product (game, movie) that you will watch in the helmet. Prepare a place for the game: remove sharp and fragile objects, most users, under the influence of the picture, begin to move, as in the game, and even dodge blows. If the game may contain scenes that would seem unpleasant to you, ask another person to stay with you, it is not at all necessary to tell him about the reason - he is unlikely to refuse to get acquainted with a technical novelty.

All games coming to market are subject to mandatory certification indicating age and listing scenes, be it violence, drug use, obscene language, etc. Obviously, if virtual reality technology really becomes widespread, additional certification will be required indicating potentially traumatic scenes when using VR headsets. But until this happens, taking care of your health is entirely in your hands.

Like any new technology, VR headsets take time. Who knows, perhaps in the near future in our city clinics, therapy sessions using virtual reality will become as commonplace as, for example, physiotherapy, and content for home entertainment will be guaranteed to be safe.

Another reality: is VR suitable for children?

One of the most high-profile film premieres of this spring was Steven Spielberg's film Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name. The action takes place in the near future, where the economic crisis has led to a sharp decline in living standards. The only place, where people can forget about the hardships of reality, becomes Oasis - a large-scale virtual reality game.

The film is certainly fantastic, but is it so far from reality? Research shows that in the United States, more than 20% of households have virtual reality (VR) devices in their homes. The number of devices on the market is growing, and they themselves are becoming more sophisticated: today their range ranges from cheap cardboard headsets, like Google Cardboard, for the use of which a simple design of cardboard and two lenses must be supplemented with a smartphone, to expensive VR helmets, in which you can play the most modern games on computers and consoles. The amount of content is also growing: in VR you can watch “The Simpsons”, take a walk in natural parks and museums, chat with people in a virtual chat or fight with virtual enemies in shooters.

Perhaps your son or daughter also wants a VR headset, and you are wondering whether this technology is suitable for a child.

For very young children (up to seven years old), buying a VR headset seems unjustified: these children still have a lot to learn about the real world, and we believe that immersion in the virtual world can wait. As for slightly older children, there is no consensus among researchers: VR is a technology too new, and scientific facts There are no statements about the dangers of VR or its absence. There are two arguments against buying VR devices at this age: firstly, leading device manufacturers (Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR) set the minimum age level at 12-13 years. Secondly, the amount of content that is designed for such a young audience is still small, and a child who is passionate about VR may accidentally stumble upon more mature content.

Risks of VR

So, you have decided that your child, who is eager to play VR games, is already old enough for virtual reality. What can you do to make this new reality useful and safe for him?

Firstly, research shows that everything that happens in VR is perceived by children (and adults too) as more “real” than what happens in books, films and ordinary computer games. Common Sense Media researchers offer this advice: Don't let your kids have experiences in VR that you wouldn't want them to have in VR. real life. Do you want your child to take part in a bloody battle? Or the hero of a horror short film where he becomes a murder victim? So it’s better to avoid modern photorealistic war games and videos with a high age rating in VR. Before letting your child play a game, try it yourself and decide if it is suitable for him. This, by the way, also applies to regular games.

Multiplayer games and VR chats carry an even greater risk - they involve the threat of cyberbullying from other participants. As we have already said, children feel what happens in VR much more acutely than what happens in regular games. Single-player games are much more suitable for children. Remember that if in the case of a computer you can at least look at the child’s monitor, in VR he is face-to-face with the display.

Finally, many parents wonder how VR can affect health. Let's start with the simplest thing: banal injuries. When we were testing VR games, we fell several times and touched objects around us at unexpected moments. Make sure your child plays sitting down, there are no heavy objects around him and he is under your permanent supervision.

When it comes to other effects on health and well-being, the most common concern is the impact of VR on vision: in this case, we are dealing with technology in which the screen is located a few centimeters from the eyes, and vision is focused on one point. While the research in this area varies, our advice is not to spend a lot of time in VR in one day and take regular breaks. Another problem is dizziness and headache. Its source is the fact that in the case of VR, the sensations from our eyes are very different from the sensations from the vestibular apparatus and the position of parts of our body in space. To minimize these unpleasant sensations, we recommend choosing games and applications in which you are at one point in space and exploring the space around you (for example, repelling an enemy attack from a space station or standing in the middle of a museum hall), and we also recommend taking breaks.

Where to begin?

For those who have a Cardboard-type helmet and a smartphone on Android or iOS, we have compiled a mini-selection of interesting applications for getting to know VR:

1. Official Google app Cardboard ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.samples.apps.cardboarddemo , https://itunes.apple.com/app/id987962261) will introduce the basic concepts of VR through beautiful and interesting demonstrations with cute animals.
2. InCell ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nivalvr.incell, ) and InMind ( https://itunes.apple.com/app/incell-vr-cardboard/id1044805956 , https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/inmind-vr-cardboard/id971720127) from the Nival company will introduce you to the structure of cells and nervous system person.
3. Our game Kaspersky Virus Hunters ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kaspersky.virushunters.cbrd) will allow you to fight viruses that attack your phone.
4. Google Arts & Culture VR ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.cultural&hl=ru , https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/google-arts-culture/id1050970557?mt=8) will allow you to wander through the best of the museum (pay attention to the 12+ rating - sometimes works of art contain “adult” elements).
5. Google Spotlight Stories ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.spotlightstories , https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/google-spotlight-stories/id974739483?mt=8) - the best VR cartoons and short films (also check out the content yourself first - it may not always be suitable for children).

And in order to protect children from dangerous and unpleasant content in VR on smartphones, such as adult sites with VR videos and games inappropriate for children, you can use parental control programs with an application monitoring function, for example, Kaspersky Safe Kids.

Virtual reality is alluring more people, especially young. The game captivates with the authenticity of events and sensations. And to dive into mysterious world All you need is a smartphone and glasses to convey the story. But, no matter how interesting the game is, a reasonable question arises: are glasses harmful for virtual reality? To answer this, you should consider the main characteristics of the device.

Are virtual reality glasses harmful to vision?

Device weight

Apart from the wires, the weight of the device itself, at first glance, is small, about 300 grams. This is about the same as monitor headphones weigh. And here we should draw a parallel and remember what the headphones feel like after sitting in them for an hour. Not only the ears begin to hurt, but also the head, crown, and neck. This occurs due to tension in the neck muscles. The same symptoms also occur after wearing glasses for a long time.

In addition, the helmet is put on the head and covers its entire volume. Despite the presence of elastic straps that are designed to alleviate pressure, the helmet puts pressure not only on the head, but also on the bridge of the nose. As a result, in addition to headaches, pain also appears in the nose area.

Of course, it is impossible to judge the dangers of glasses based on this parameter. After all, it all depends on the time spent in them.

Interesting! Within half an hour the discomfort will not be noticeable, but within an hour the first signs of fatigue will appear.

Detachment from the real world

Increasingly, stories appear in the news about young people who are completely detached from reality while playing in virtual reality. They forget to eat, drink, sleep. Losing track of time has serious health consequences. This manifests itself not only in moral and physical fatigue, but also in exhaustion. In some cases, it is not possible to save a person who has played until he loses his pulse. He dies from dehydration or starvation.

But it is also impossible to talk about the specific harm of glasses in this case. After all, it is not the device itself that is to blame, but the exciting plot of the game, the receptive and captivating nature of the player.

Harmful effects

Back in the 80s of the last century, after playing with virtual glasses, not only headaches appeared, but also dizziness, nausea, even vomiting. Despite the technological breakthrough and improvement of glasses, the problem is still relevant today. All these are consequences of psychological and physical stress.

In addition, disorientation often sets in after prolonged play. This is due to the fact that the brain actually receives signals on various actions from several senses. All of them are consistent with each other, and therefore no failure occurs. In virtual reality, the senses do not work synchronously, and therefore discord occurs. Cases have been recorded when, during or after a long game, a person poured a drink not into his mouth, but, for example, into his eye.

From the point of view of scientists, this is due to the low resolution and frequent frame changes in the game.

Important! Scientists and doctors do not recommend the use of glasses for children under 13 years of age.

Damage to vision

But also the most main question: Are glasses harmful to your eyesight? Here, the opinions of not only players, but also many experts differ. Most believe that a helmet is no more dangerous to the eyes than a medium-sized computer monitor.

The other half is sure that glasses put a lot of strain on vision, as a result of which it deteriorates. And there is data confirming this fact. Sitting for long periods of time and frequently virtual helmet, just like at the computer, will eventually lead to a deterioration in visual acuity.

Spending a long time in the virtual world can also lead to refractive error. In this case, eye diseases occur in which the image is focused in front of the retina, and not on it.

It is impossible to say unequivocally whether virtual reality glasses are harmful to health and vision. Here everything depends on many factors: the length of stay in the fictional world, the psyche and emotional state player, device quality.

One thing is for sure: the main thing is to know when to stop, and then you can enjoy the plot without harming your health.