4 ms·

I feel like people had the same worries when television, computers and video games invaded homes everywhere in decades past. I'm thinking the problems (if any)

I feel like people had the same worries when television, computers and video games invaded homes everywhere in decades past. I'm thinking the problems (if any) won't be as bad as you think they will be. And to your last point I think that's where common sense comes in. If something is painful, if it causes you discomfort, stop. You're body is decently good at protecting you from things that are harmful to it (except sugary sweets for me...)

rtpg 5y ago
Well specifically to the brightness, how much light is going into your eyes when using a VR set relative to, say, a TV? Or a 27-inch monitor close to your face?
- growt 5y ago
  Or the sun/daylight while being outside? I'd guess that's some orders of magnitude more.
  - empiricus 5y ago
    Ironically you need to be exposed to the strong light outside (as a child), otherwise you will need glasses.
    - kataklasm 5y ago
      Yep, I really regret spensing so much time of my youth indoors in front of a monitor... At age 19 I can experience the loss in sight quality already. It is recommended to spend AT LEAST 2 hours everyday outside in daylight to prevent myopia. I did not follow that recommendation and regret it sorely.
      - robbiep 5y ago
        The evidence around this appears to be most strong for actually having a long focal distance as being one of the most important factors (as opposed to the lux) - unless the evidence has significantly changed. I mean there’s probably a pretty strong correlation between being outside and having a long focal distance, but my understanding was that when attempting to control for this (ie rise of increase in apartment living, first in Japan and then other Asian cities) its tightly correlated to not focusing on things a long way away
        kataklasm 5y ago
        Yep, that's correct. If you're spending many hours a day in front of a phone or monitor for months or years you'll have accumulated a lot of very short focal length time, so to say.
- meheleventyone 5y ago
  I’d imagine most discomfort is eye strain rather than brightness. The way VR headsets work right now it’s important to have your eye correctly positioned and the headset adjusted for your own distance between pupils.
kjaftaedi 5y ago
You can't really feel pain in your retina though.
tamrix 5y ago
The amount of people being prescribed glasses is growing each year due to phone and computer use. I have poorer vision in low light conditions then when I was younger. My optometrist has confirmed my sensitive eyes and advised to wear blue light filters but I choose not to. I have friends who need glasses to drive legally at night for similar reasons. Don't give people the wrong impression without first asking professional advice as you could do harm by misleading someone.
- kmmlng 5y ago
  While it is true that incidences of myopia are increasing, we don't quite have the evidence to assert that it is due to phone and computer use. Indeed, many studies suggest that the reason might actually be a lack of bright light (i.e. sunlight) and that deliberate exposure to bright light may actually be a good intervention to prevent myopia (see e.g. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0110906 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal..., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26635-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26635-7, https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2355431 https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2355431)
  - ninkendo 5y ago
    Relevant YouTube video about this from SciShow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQzTKHIkb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQzTKHIkb4
  - poutrathor 5y ago
    bright white light or led screens ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    - kmmlng 5y ago
      From what I remember when I last looked into it: We underestimate how bright sunlight is. Screens just aren't bright enough. They only appear to be bright to us because they are one of the few light sources in indoor environments.
- 5y ago
toshk 5y ago
I think it's a little bit more then the worries we see with TV's since children under a certain age are not allowed to use it. But yeah I couldn't imagine using it for a workday. I bought an Oculus Go once, my eyes couldn't handle it for more then 5 tot 10 minutes. But I guess everyone is different, can imagine for some people like me it's not healthy
- Filligree 5y ago
  The Oculus Go has a resolution of 12.67 pixels per degree. The Quest 2 has a resolution of 15.5 (vertical) to 20 (horizontal) pixels per degree, and a massively reduced screen-door effect. Anecdotally (i.e. for me), that makes it far less straining to look into. although I'd really want twice that.

rtpg 5y ago

Well specifically to the brightness, how much light is going into your eyes when using a VR set relative to, say, a TV? Or a 27-inch monitor close to your face?

growt 5y ago
Or the sun/daylight while being outside? I'd guess that's some orders of magnitude more.
- empiricus 5y ago
  Ironically you need to be exposed to the strong light outside (as a child), otherwise you will need glasses.
  - kataklasm 5y ago
    Yep, I really regret spensing so much time of my youth indoors in front of a monitor... At age 19 I can experience the loss in sight quality already. It is recommended to spend AT LEAST 2 hours everyday outside in daylight to prevent myopia. I did not follow that recommendation and regret it sorely.
    - robbiep 5y ago
      The evidence around this appears to be most strong for actually having a long focal distance as being one of the most important factors (as opposed to the lux) - unless the evidence has significantly changed. I mean there’s probably a pretty strong correlation between being outside and having a long focal distance, but my understanding was that when attempting to control for this (ie rise of increase in apartment living, first in Japan and then other Asian cities) its tightly correlated to not focusing on things a long way away
      - kataklasm 5y ago
        Yep, that's correct. If you're spending many hours a day in front of a phone or monitor for months or years you'll have accumulated a lot of very short focal length time, so to say.
meheleventyone 5y ago
I’d imagine most discomfort is eye strain rather than brightness. The way VR headsets work right now it’s important to have your eye correctly positioned and the headset adjusted for your own distance between pupils.

kjaftaedi 5y ago

You can't really feel pain in your retina though.

tamrix 5y ago

The amount of people being prescribed glasses is growing each year due to phone and computer use. I have poorer vision in low light conditions then when I was younger. My optometrist has confirmed my sensitive eyes and advised to wear blue light filters but I choose not to. I have friends who need glasses to drive legally at night for similar reasons. Don't give people the wrong impression without first asking professional advice as you could do harm by misleading someone.

kmmlng 5y ago
While it is true that incidences of myopia are increasing, we don't quite have the evidence to assert that it is due to phone and computer use. Indeed, many studies suggest that the reason might actually be a lack of bright light (i.e. sunlight) and that deliberate exposure to bright light may actually be a good intervention to prevent myopia (see e.g. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0110906 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal..., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26635-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-26635-7, https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2355431 https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2355431)
- ninkendo 5y ago
  Relevant YouTube video about this from SciShow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQzTKHIkb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQzTKHIkb4
- poutrathor 5y ago
  bright white light or led screens ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  - kmmlng 5y ago
    From what I remember when I last looked into it: We underestimate how bright sunlight is. Screens just aren't bright enough. They only appear to be bright to us because they are one of the few light sources in indoor environments.
5y ago

toshk 5y ago

I think it's a little bit more then the worries we see with TV's since children under a certain age are not allowed to use it. But yeah I couldn't imagine using it for a workday. I bought an Oculus Go once, my eyes couldn't handle it for more then 5 tot 10 minutes. But I guess everyone is different, can imagine for some people like me it's not healthy

Filligree 5y ago
The Oculus Go has a resolution of 12.67 pixels per degree. The Quest 2 has a resolution of 15.5 (vertical) to 20 (horizontal) pixels per degree, and a massively reduced screen-door effect. Anecdotally (i.e. for me), that makes it far less straining to look into. although I'd really want twice that.