A comprehensive review of published experimental research reveals how virtual reality (VR) is best used and also why the technology has (so far) struggled to become a megahit with consumers.
Companies like Meta and Apple have invested heavily in the tech, betting on wide consumer adoption. Is this wise?
There are some scenarios where virtual reality solves really hard problems: Open heart surgery is a hard thing to practice in the real world, and aeroplane pilots cannot learn from their mistakes midair, to cite just two examples of technological applications and advantages.
However, there are limitations. According to researcher Jeremy Bailenson (from Stanford University): “What we’ve long showed in the lab is that VR is great when used sparingly and thoughtfully. Otherwise, the pros typically don’t outweigh the cons.”
he goes on to explain that, as a medium, VR is very intense. It blocks out the real world and, as such, VR can make users uncomfortable or even experience “simulator sickness,” a type of motion sickness.
The research shows it is better to use VR in short doses — minutes not hours — and only for certain things. The researchers recommend saving VR for “DICE” experiences – those which if done in the real world would be dangerous, impossible, counterproductive, or expensive.
Five important findings from the research are:
Travel to awesome or personally challenging places. Don’t go to VR for run-of-the-mill meetings.
According to Bailenson, use VR for a stroll through the ruins of Pompeii or visit the Grand Canyon. The visceral nature of VR lends itself well to experiences where “being there” matters.
Yet VR’s value fades if the environment is not dramatic. While there were hopes during the pandemic that people would turn to VR for more engaging meetings, that idea failed to catch on.
“If you are just sitting there staring and not moving your body, you probably can do that on a computer and save yourself some headset time,” Bailenson explains.
Learn surgery or public speaking. Don’t solve basic math problems.
Educators had great hopes for virtual reality ever since simulators were first used to train pilots in 1929. As the technology developed, though, Bailenson thinks it has become apparent that VR does not add much to abstract learning that can be taught well on a chalkboard.
He contends that virtual reality is best used with learning skills that are procedural, requiring one step and then another, as might be done in surgery or dissection situations. Spatial tasks where movement and immersion are helpful also work well in VR, such as practicing nonverbal behavior or performing in front of a crowd.
Try on a new identity in VR, but make sure it’s the right fit.
Self-perception changes how people behave, Bailenson has shown, whether in a virtual world or the real one. For instance, if people choose more athletic avatars, they tend to move around more. Those with taller avatars tend to negotiate more aggressively. The opposite is also true, which means users should be careful when choosing an avatar, Bailenson advised.
“Understand that whatever avatar you’re going to use is going to change the way that you behave inside VR and for some time after you leave,” Bailenson adds. “So be thoughtful and use platforms that allow you to choose an avatar that either matches your actual or ideal self.”
Take a VR fitness class. Don’t try to learn how to throw a baseball.
Athletic training is a great use for virtual reality, except when it comes to precision movements. Users have a hard time judging distance in the virtual world, the review found. It’s a persistent problem the technology has yet to overcome.
“High-level spatial activities are great in VR, but when you’re looking for down-to-the-centimeter accuracy, you should be wary of using commercial VR applications,” Bailenson clarifies.
You can run in VR, but you can’t hide.
People are easily identified by how they move their bodies, research has shown, so users should be aware that even if their avatar itself masks their identity, the millions of movement data points automatically collected by the system can identify them. There is no true anonymity when wearing VR headsets.
By this, Bailenson means: “In VR you move your body, and the scene responds. That’s what makes the medium so special. Natural body movements are so important that the medium literally can’t run if you turn off movement tracking.”
Bailenson’s research appears in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, titled “Five canonical findings from 30 years of psychological experimentation in virtual reality.”
