Source from Pixabay
Virtual reality has evolved through the decades. The reality and the rate of penetration have been overwhelming.
I recall vividly the experience of one of my nieces who encountered a VR effect at a game centre in my area. He wore the VR eyeglasses to watch the Spider-Man Cartoon. To cap it all, the centre also sells the CDs and costumes for major characters in some films. His uncle bought the CD and some of the Spider-Man costumes. We nearly lost this young lad with the events that followed.
First, while playing at home with his friends, this boy will wear his costume and fly around reacting to the movie. We tried to stop him, but he became violent. He will always insist on watching Spider-Man's cartoon against the majority's wishes. This became a real challenge until the Daddy decided to burn the costume and destroy the CD in his presence. We were able to control this behaviour because he was still young.
The VR advantage is enormous; outside the gaming world, it is used in the medical sector to prepare for surgery. Training simulations can also be made more efficient, understandable and retainable through Virtual reality. During my MBA, when I was preparing my final thesis, I utilised VR in my data analytics preparation, which has a lot in common with ANOVA and Python data analysis. It was a walkover for me because the Virtual reality simplified it through 3D simulation effects.
Source from Pixabay
Secondly, Virtual effects make learning easy and boost creativity. Some forex trading packages are now in 3D simulation. This simplifies the process and boosts the online engagement of the youths and every willing person who wants to learn the creative means of making money.
Source from Pixabay
However, beyond the pros of Virtual effects lies the uncontrollable addiction to its usage, which is affecting a good percentage of our youth. Some of them sleep and wake up in game centres. Kudos to some game centres that operate TDB. They are obsessed with VR, and stake money all day on games and other online activities connected to it. Sometimes, they go borrowing from online mobile money platforms to enable them to stake funds for their games. Sometimes, they end up losing such funds. While some parents have launched an offensive defence mechanism to stop such addiction and reclaim their wards, others have lost their wards to some attitudinal challenges resulting from this addiction. Imagine how you feel when you stay glued to a computer at the office, the brain drain effect. Now, compared to the VR gadgets with all the noisy effects and 3D animation that these youths accumulate daily, isn’t it absurd and traumatic?
The question now is, what is the way forward? For me, controlling children's exposure to VR in their early stages of life is vital. Parents should also put parental controls on the PlayStation, which will limit their exposure to VR and protect them from brain drain.
For the youths and adults, there should be self-control in the usage and application of VR 3D simulation, just like the government's policy insists that a disclaimer be added to cigarettes that says smokers are liable to die young. There should be a disclaimer attached to the usage of VR effects or game centres, both online and physical centres, especially those that operate TDB (till daybreak).
Thank you for the engagement. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments section.