Virtual Reality and Disillusionment 1

The Danger of Virtual Reality Technology

Abdoul Barry

RCO 390-03 Strong Capstone

April 30th, 2019

Virtual Reality and Disillusionment 2

Abstract
The current virtual reality gaming technology can cause a disillusionment with reality.

Games have swept the world and given many individuals the chance to explore different worlds

and experience a multitude of things, on the other hand it has also brought a mixture of

disillusionment with reality. Games out on the market currently and older games have allowed

players to explore everything from fantasy worlds to the dark regions of space. With the

advancement of VR tech gaming could be taken to an entirely different level; with rather gamers

instead becoming characters in the games they play and this is a scary thought. Imagine you plug

up your headset and dive into a world where you can slay a dragon with magic or dive to the

deepest depths of the ocean. It is possible for you to lose track of time in this world and also

possible that you become so attached to the world that when you take off your headset and come

back to reality you lose interest in your surroundings and fail to function. Virtual Reality is a

developing industry that will change our lives in the future for better or worse through its effect

on people’s perceptions on reality.

Virtual Reality and Disillusionment 3

Virtual Reality is a developing industry that will change our lives in the future for

better or worse through its effect on people’s perceptions on reality.

Virtual Reality is a platform that has been on the rise since the early 1980s and has

continued to develop all the way to present day. Virtual Reality as a term refers to an immersive,

interactive experience created by a computer. This is all done through the computers system and

it creates a digital scene that the user can look and interact with. The settings of the scenario are

programed in and the scenario can be anything the programmer wants to code. Scenarios can

include in the three dimensional scene anything from a day at the beach to a simulated version of

someone’s living room. Virtual reality has become a major part of the gaming industry today and

the technology used in it has advanced far beyond the earlier concepts. VR tech such as virtual

headsets have become available to everyone and are more accessible than virtual reality rooms

that were constructed for research. People now can just buy a Vive or Oculus VR headset and

use them anywhere, on their phones or computers. The advancement of virtual reality tech is a

great thing and will bring about great innovations. It will also further problems that we currently

struggle with in the age of computers especially the problem of loss of self-identity and it will

further the distance from reality.

Virtual reality has become the new trend in gaming today to the point that many people

buy headsets and upgrade their computers or other devices to be able to play the VR games they

have heard of. Virtual reality has also rapidly spread to other media communities such as the film

business where many movies or TV shows in recent years have featured plotlines or elements of

Virtual reality in their films. Some popular films of virtual reality are films such as Ready Player

One, or the Matrix use computerized worlds as the basis for their stories and this allows many

people to generally gain a bit of understand as to what virtual reality does and can possibly do.
Virtual Reality and Disillusionment 4

With Virtual technology currently on the rise there are many things that it can be used for

in our society today. Anything from taking classes to just going outside can be simulated in

computer environment though this has some merit to it especially if you consider the potential

benefits this would give for disabled people who cannot interact with their surroundings as others

would and would greatly help for rehabilitation methods. Although while there are merits to the

use of VR there is a heavy risk in mental health when you take away something real or natural

from users and implant an unnatural or simulated reality for them to interact within. I believe this

can cause loss of identity and awareness among people who use VR because there is a potential

addiction that comes with the use of things that give pleasure or excitement, happiness which

many can gain from using VR tech. An example of this would be found with the practical uses of

VR tech today where most of it is used to play games for enjoyment and also to engage in the

viewing of Rated-R material. This effects a person’s mental health greatly in that they begin to

disillusion interactions in reality as similar to ones they experienced within a VR world when in

fact they are different because of the fundamental idea that VR settings can be programed to your

tastes and they are not really authentic in a sense.

Virtual Reality and Disillusionment 5

Annotated Bibliography

Bates-Brkljac, N. (2012). Virtual reality (Computer science, technology and

applications). New York: Nova Science. (2012). Retrieved February 17, 2019, from

https://uncg.on.worldcat.org.

Woodstock, J. (2016, October 12). Will virtual reality games replace console games?

[Web log post]. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from

https://indiewatch.net/2016/10/12/will-virtual-reality-games-replace-console-games/

Cheaney, J. B. (2016, June 10). Virtual vs. reality - WORLD. Retrieved February 15,

2019, from https://world.wng.org/2016/06/virtual_vs_reality

Rubin, P., (Pop culture writer), (2018). Future presence: How virtual reality is changing

human connection, intimacy, and the limits of ordinary life (First ed.). New York, NY:

HarperCollins.

Ryan, M.-L. (1999). Immersion vs. Interactivity: Virtual Reality and Literary

Theory. Substance: A Review of Theory and Literary Criticism, 28(2 [89]), 110–37.

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