for kids? We asked the experts

For decades, we have imagined a future where we can connect to a fully three-dimensional virtual world. Virtual reality opens the door to true escape with a whole new level of immersive experience. It will allow us to be with people, attend events and visit places that are physically out of reach. The educational possibilities are endless, but as the excitement over the dawn of virtual reality continues to build, there's one group that might be left behind: children.

The majority of VR headset manufacturers are aging. The Oculus Rift and Samsung's Gear VR headset have an age rating of 13+. Sony PlayStation VR should not be used by children under the age of 12. And while HTC doesn't specify an age limit, it does caution against allowing young children to use the Vive.

Disappointed and frustrated parents everywhere wonder why these age limits were set. What are the risks ? Is this a precautionary measure, arbitrary legalese, or is there a real danger?

New does not mean dangerous

“So far I have not seen any smoking guns, not concrete evidence that a child of a certain age has been affected in some way by wearing a VR headset,” Martin Banks, a professor of optometry, vision science, psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, told Digital Trends. "I guess all they're doing is saying that kids are developing and development slows down when they hit adolescence, so let's play it safe and say that while these kids are going through significant development, we will advise people not to let them use it. »

It's no surprise that VR headset manufacturers are cautious. Virtual reality is relatively new, and we don't yet know much about the long-term effects, especially on children.

“There is very good evidence, especially in children, that if you do what is called near work, where you look at something up close, like reading a book very closely or looking at a cell phone, it elongates the eye and makes the eye myopic,” says Professor Banks.< /p>

Nearsightedness, or nearsightedness, is where near objects appear clear, but far objects appear blurry. It has been increasing in recent years. A

study

in the United States found that myopia among people aged 12 to 54 increased from 25% in 1971-1972 to 41.6% in 1999-2004. There are many

evidence

linking this tendency to a nearby job, such as reading or using a computer.

The damage occurs when a child focuses on something close for long periods of time, so it's understandable that some worry that VR headsets could make the problem worse. The screen is only two inches from the user's eyes. But the technology is more complex than that.

“Let's compare a child using a VR headset versus a child using a smartphone. When using the smartphone, they usually hold it very close to them and therefore need to focus their eye closely,” says Professor Banks. “You might think with the VR headset they should do the same thing because the image is close to the eye, but [VR headsets] have optics in the setup that actually make the stimulus far away, so, in terms of where the eye needs to focus, you actually need to focus far enough to sharpen the image in the headset. »

This means that VR headsets can be less problematic than books or smartphones. But what about other risks that can be more serious for a child's sight development?

The virtual can detect real vision problems very early

“In the real world, the two eyes have slightly different viewpoints,” Professor Peter Howarth, senior lecturer, optometrist and vision expert, told Digital Trends. “For a normal child, this gives rise to the development of the sensory ability to judge depth using stereopsis. I don't see that intermittent use of a VR system by a normal child would have a negative effect on this. »

VR headsets essentially mimic the way our eyes already work by showing each eye a slightly different image, allowing us to perceive depth.

“The ability to see detail depends on producing a sharp image on the developing retina. Again, intermittent use of a VR system shouldn't hurt this, even if the image quality was less than perfect,” says Prof Howarth.

VR devices can mimic equipment used to treat orthoptic issues, like lazy eyes. So it's possible that virtual reality headsets could help diagnose eye problems, and even treat them, rather than cause them.

“Manufacturers could incorporate vision testing and allow people to see that they might have a problem and should consult an eye specialist,” Professor Banks suggests.

It remains to be seen if any RV maker will go down this path. And there is always the risk that bad optical hardware will make an undiagnosed problem worse.

Most known risks are shared with adults

“There will be issues for children that are the same as for adults, and one of them is vision-induced motion sickness (VIMS),” says Professor Howarth. "This is because the image you're looking at gives the brain the visual cues it receives when you're actually moving - and these can cause motion sickness."

So far there has been none. -called a smoking gun.

In other words, if you get sick on a rollercoaster, chances are you'll get sick on a virtual coaster. There are also issues when the visual images presented by the VR headset are inconsistent.

“When you move your head and they try to update the image, so the image appears to be a stable part of the world. If they don't get it right, if there's a time lag, or if they don't move the image the right amount, people susceptible to motion sickness may be susceptible to nausea, aches head and stuff like that with VR headsets,” says Prof. Banks.

Nausea is not the only danger that arises from the separation of real and virtual words. Collisions with nearby objects are a problem.

“By wearing headsets and moving physically to navigate a virtual world, there is a risk of collision with the real world,” Dr. Cyriel Diels, expert in psychology and human factors, explained to Digital Trends. "I don't really see how it would be any different for children, except for potential health and safety issues, which may have different ramifications for children than for adults."

In other words, an adult will probably be fine if she walks headfirst into a shelf, but a child will not. Some helmets try to take this problem into account. HTC Vive maps your surroundings with sensors and will notify you when you're approaching something by bleeding it into the virtual world. But the risk remains, because the technology is not perfect and children do not always heed warnings.

Finally, the virtual world can have a lingering impact on users after they log out. When you use virtual reality, your brain begins to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the new experience, but when you return to reality, you have to adjust again.

“Some people may experience sequelae that can affect motor skills. control (hand-eye coordination, postural stability),” says Dr. Diels. "The classic example is that soldiers may not be allowed to engage in activities that might be affected, such as driving or operating certain machinery."

Kids are safe to use VR, but expect caution anyway

It seems a shame to impose a general ban on children when there is no real proof that virtual reality is more dangerous than a book or a tablet. Fear of litigation certainly contributes to the modern obsession with health and safety and our culture is becoming more risk averse as we increasingly seek to wrap our children in cotton wool.

However, the lack of long-term studies on the possible impact of virtual reality headsets may urge caution, at least for now.

'My opinion is that it's more lawyers talking than scientists,' says Professor Banks. “But never say never. I'm not going to say there's definitely no risk, because we can't know. »

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