• Entertainment – movies, museums, galleries, concerts

'

• Healthcare
µ – medical training, surgery planning, virtual reality exposure
therapy
• Education – laboratory experiments, language training, field trips
• Aviation – flight simulation, aircraft maintenance training, in-flight
entertainment
• Architecture – industrial design
• Military – training exercises (medical, combat and vehicle).
Chaves
the computer-generated simulation of a
three-dimensional image or environment
that can be interacted with in a seemingly
real or physical way by a person using
special electronic equipment, such as a
helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted
with sensors.

• Improving physical health – Players don’t spend hours sitting in a sedentary position
when VR gaming, they often become more physically active by moving around the
room.
• Reducing stress – Immersive video games are a great way to relax and escape from
the stress of everyday life.
• Treating mental health issues – Research8 shows that virtual reality can be effective
for supporting the treatment of anxiety and depression. It can also be effective when
treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as players can confront the situations
that cause them fear and anxiety in a safe and controlled environment. The
psychological effects of virtual reality are likely to become more powerful as the
technology develops.
• Overcoming phobias – VR games can help players overcome their biggest fears –
heights, flying, snakes, sharks, water or darkness – in order to win the game.

ch alla
nfes
• Virtual reality sickness – VR gaming can disrupt the sensory system and cause
similar symptoms to motion sickness – nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue and loss
of balance.
• Other health risks – Users of virtual reality have reported a number of other harmful
effects9 including broken bones and torn ligaments (after colliding with walls, objects
and other players), vision damage and even seizures.
• Virtual reality addiction – As VR technology becomes more immersive, there is an
increased risk of virtual reality addiction (also known as virtual gaming addiction).
Players can become VR addicts, wanting to spend more and more time in their
simulated environment, away from the stress and pressures of everyday life. According
to research by the Higher Colleges of Technology10: “The negative impacts of VR
gaming addiction are like any media addiction. As with any media addiction, playing VR
games for hours can cause serious mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety,
attention deficit disorder, and in many cases, autism spectrum traits and features,
obesity, sleep problems, increased aggression. The main impact of playing VR for long
hours is that it may damage the brain in a way that people will not be able to distinguish
between VR and reality.” This behavioral addiction is a subset of internet addiction and
gaming disorder. Find out more about the signs of internet addiction, the health
consequences of gaming and the prevalence of gaming disorder.