Is VR safe for us?

  Our everyday life can get so boring, that we escape from it to a fictional world. One day you can colonize the Andromeda galaxy, another you can be a forward in Manchester United. One of the reasons why video games are so popular is that you have a shot at becoming a person leading a dangerous life from the comfort of your own couch. However, there are some borders we should not cross.  Right now, the border between reality and fiction is clear. What's fictional is displayed on our screens. What's real is around us. But what if it wouldn't be? 

   First, let's take a look how humans perceived the advances in the field of cinematography. First, there were silent movies of the Lumiere brothers. Workers leaving a factory, or a train arriving at a station. People were mortified when they saw that a train is about to arrive at its destination. They even though that the train in the movie was real; that it would hit them. Then they got used to it. The era of silent movies with stars such as Charlie Chaplin was blooming. Then slowly, color and sound were introduced. There were opinions that humans will not be able to handle all of it at once. We are. 3D was the next step. Concerns were raised, in the end, we know for a fact that it's safe for us. Now the next step is VR. VR allows us to be in the middle of the action. It makes the game more realistic than ever before. It can be also used for viewing 360 degrees videos you have filmed during your holidays. But this technology is not entirely without its side effects.

  Rebecca Searles, from "The Atlantic" claims that VR can leave us in an "existential hangover." It can even result in an emotional detachment that can last for days. Also, think about it - once we will hit the level of photorealistic graphics, we might even forget that what we're seeing is in fact just VR. VR addiction can also be particularly dangerous for people with mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety. That's because the virtual world will sometimes be more appealing than the real world. I am not calling for ceasing sales of VR equipment, no. I believe that everything if used properly, is okay, however, we have to eliminate or largely limit the most pressing side effects of using VR such as making sure that a player is aware that he's not in the real world while being in the world of a video game.