Guest post by Davor Gasparevic
Pros and Cons of Virtual Reality When Kids Are Using It
It is a fact that Virtual Reality will only become more popular with time, making it not only easily accessible but also a desired item that everyone will want to own, including children.
Nevertheless, with all the rumors floating around about whether it’s dangerous or not to immerse yourself into the VR world, parents have been started to wonder if getting a VR headset for their children is a good idea at all. To help out, we’ve hand-picked some of the pros and cons a Virtual Reality experience can offer kids of any age.
Pros
Virtual Reality can have wonderful positive effects when used correctly, especially among the easily-surprised children. Its technology opens a world of possibilities that would otherwise be impossible to achieve thus making the VR experience an invaluable and irreplaceable one at the same time.
It is a learning tool
VR can be used to teach, both inside the classrooms and out of it. Children will rapidly engage in whatever is being shown to them and because of this, themes and topics that would otherwise be too difficult to understand can be shown visually and 3-dimensionally.
Although not all VR headsets are children-oriented, many viewers, which require only a smartphone to function, offer apps and games that work as educational tools for smaller children.
Among some of the models that boys and girls can enjoy is the Mattel VR viewer which, in combination to the Experience Packs they sell, any child will be able to learn about outer space or animal kingdom by literally immersing into it, head-first.
It creates interest
For all those kids who are incorrectly diagnosed with ADD, VR is the educational solution: it will hook up anyone who has the headset on and in the middle of experiencing far away countries or even other planets.
Because it’s so different to what we’ve known so far, and because it’s dynamic and interactive, kids will happily engage in talking about what they saw and felt, and it won’t even feel like they’re studying.
It has incredible visuals
Not too long ago, we were barely seeing pictures of faraway places inside big, fat books. With the Internet, that might have expanded into watching interactive visits to those spaces. However, with VR, kids can actually put themselves there and experience it directly.
Not only that, the three dimensions’ space where they are placed will allow them to play with their imagination and creativity like never before. With VR, a kid can take a boat trip in any river around the world, or walk on the surface of the moon, all from the very comfort of their houses.
Cons
Just as there are lots of people who express excitement for what Virtual Reality can offer to children of all ages, there are some who feel concern about how their child’s health can be affected.
It can cause addiction
When what a child experiences while playing a video game or, in this case, VR, is much more entertaining than the world they live in, they might grow an addiction to it. It’s possible but not necessarily probable as a kid that grows in a healthy environment with parents that regulate when and where they can make use of VR is a child that will not present addictive behavior towards it.
Health damage
Likewise, many have voiced their worries about their children’s brain development or vision being affected negatively by using VR. The truth behind these claims is that there isn’t, as of today, enough studies or evidence to support this.
In fact, it has been proven that those children who present headaches or eyestrain symptoms after using VR headsets should definitely get their eyes checked as these issues only show up in kids who already have eyesight problems.
In general, the advantages of using VR are far superior to its manageable disadvantages so if you are thinking of buying a VR headset for your child but are worried about how negative it can turn out to be, rest assured that the positive outcomes will be undoubtedly worth it.
About the author:
Dave is senior editor for technology related sites. Recently he is focused on Virtual Reality as this industry became one of the fastest growing.
