Some people have not yet realized what a powerful weapon a virtual reality headset is to influence the brain.
THE WEAPON
Virtual reality glasses directly affect the brain because they trick the senses into perceiving a virtual world as real. This is achieved by combining 3D images, surround sound and motion tracking.
🔸3D images🔸 are generated by two screens that project slightly different images for each eye. This creates the illusion of depth and perspective that the brain needs to perceive a real world.
🔸Surround sound🔸 surrounds the user with sound, helping to create a feeling of immersion.
🔸Motion Tracking🔸 tracks the position and movement of the user's head and body. This allows the virtual world to move with the user, increasing the feeling of realism.
When the brain perceives this virtual world as real, it activates the same neural circuits that are activated when experiencing the real world.
This can cause a series of psychological effects, such as:
🔸Sense of immersion🔸 : The user feels as if they were really present in the virtual world.
🔸Sense of presence🔸 : The user feels as if he or she is the one experiencing the virtual world.
🔸Sense of emotion🔸 : The user experiences emotions similar to those they would experience in the real world.
These effects can be positive or negative, depending on the content of the virtual world. For example, a virtual reality game that is exciting or scary can provoke an intense emotional response.
In addition to these psychological effects, virtual reality glasses can also have a physical impact on the brain. For example, prolonged use of virtual reality glasses can cause eyestrain, headaches, and dizziness.
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⚠️ Did you know that there are studies that have shown that the use of virtual reality glasses can cause changes in brain activity, such as decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex, responsible for attention, planning and impulse control? ⚠️
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This is because virtual reality requires the brain to focus on a single task, which can overload this region of the brain. People who use virtual reality headsets may have a harder time focusing on real-world tasks, or may be more likely to make impulsive decisions. And this about impulsive decisions...
💥 IT CATCHES MY ATTENTION POWERFULLY 💥
If glasses are capable of influencing impulsive decision making, could they be an effective weapon to brainwash different people or groups in order to convince them in an extreme way to commit a criminal act? It is common knowledge that terrorist groups use indoctrination and control techniques through coercive persuasion techniques. What if we apply it to government control over an entire city?
But don't treat me crazy, these are not conspiracies and as I always like to reach my reader, here I am going to recommend several of these studies that interpret what I am precisely talking about:
"The impact of virtual reality on prefrontal cortex activity: An fMRI study" (Nature Neuroscience, 2016)
"The effects of virtual reality on cognitive control: An fMRI study" (PLOS ONE, 2017)
"The impact of virtual reality on brain connectivity: An fMRI study" (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018)
"The effects of virtual reality on attention: An fMRI study" (Scientific Reports, 2020)
(If you don't find any of the studies, you can ask me in the comments)
With this, we can realize that even the health sector, doctors, neurosurgeons, neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and other related professions, will also have to evolve to face this new reality that we will soon face.
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WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GOVERNMENT SEES IT A WEAPON
Depending on the location you are reading from, this is more or less likely, but not unreasonable. It will be due to eccentricities seen at the hands of governments.
We know that we are increasingly controlled by #IA , video surveillance, identity controls and biometrics... Well, here you can have a new idea.
What would happen if a #gobierno encouraged the purchase of unlimited goods and services through simulated virtual platforms? It could lead to an increase in overconsumption and debt either in fiat or #criptomonedas form when the time comes. Something similar seemed to have happened in the brick era where apartments were "given away" and then what came came. Debt, crisis, evictions...
A government, cult, or terrorist group could use virtual reality to create a virtual environment in which people can engage in violent or aggressive activities. This could lead to an increase in violence and crime. If the influence of some video games has this increase in violence in children and adolescents that even takes the form of massacres in schools and universities, imagine.
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HOW VIEWERS AFFECT CHILDREN
Children are pure terrain. In all aspects. They are in their learning period, individually and collectively. Growth, development of physical and cognitive abilities. And here the scopes can play a fundamental role both for good and for bad.
Positive effects of headsets on children
Learning: Creating immersive learning environments that can be very attractive to children, helping in a more effective and fun way.
Social Development: They can be used for children to interact with other children around the world extending social skills to even other cultures.
Relaxation: We can create relaxing environments that can help children reduce stress and anxiety in crisis situations.
Negative effects of headsets on children
In this case I give you a new task and that is to take a look at these studies:
"Pediatrics" in 2022 found that children who wore VR headsets for more than 2 hours a day had a higher risk of developing eyestrain, headaches, and dizziness.
"Child Development" in 2021 found that children who used VR headsets with violent content could develop much more aggressive behaviors.
"Frontiers in Psychology" in 2020 accused that headsets could negatively influence the empathy developed by children.
And, what do the parents of all these boys and girls think?
Well, in one of the largest surveys conducted on these topics with 3,613 parents about their attitudes towards virtual reality, the following conclusions were reached:
While the long-term effects of VR on children's health and brain development are unclear, 60 percent of parents are at least somewhat concerned about negative health effects.
Many parents believe that VR has educational promise. 62% of parents believe VR will provide educational experiences for their children.
However, only 22 percent reported that their child used VR for learning. An overwhelming 76 percent of kids who have used VR played games. Virtual reality has the potential to be an effective tool for fostering empathy among children, but most parents are skeptical.
62% of parents do not expect children to empathize with others while using VR
Overall, findings have shown that virtual reality can have an outsized influence on children.
Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communication at Stanford and co-author of the report who founded the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab in 2003. “ #VR is arguably the most powerful medium in history, and research into its effect on children is only arising
In a 2009 study, Bailenson found that when elementary school children saw themselves swimming with orca whales in a #virtual environment, many believed the fantastical experience happened in real life. This research was conducted with Kathryn Segovia, then a PhD student working in the lab
(now directs learning and design at Stanford's d. school)
Building on that research is a 2017 study Bailenson conducted with Jakki Bailey in which they found that media characters in virtual reality may be more influential on young children than characters on television or computers.
Bailenson recommends that people take precautions. In the survey, 11% of parents reported that their children ages 8 to 17 experienced dizziness, 10% experienced a headache, and 13% bumped into an object.
Advises that virtual reality be supervised closely and in moderation: increments of 5 to 10 minutes are recommended for young children and 20 minutes for older children and young adults.
It is a constant controversy about how the new #tecnologías are used for the little ones in the house. Currently there is subliminal advertising in #videojuegos to influence them in their future purchases, but I will talk about this in one of my next articles. I won't leave that, without leaving you a little clue:
See you at the next one !
