Your Kids and Virtual Reality: What All Parents Should Know
Technology has changed how the world of gaming and experiencing adventure and education feels like. The continuous adoption of virtual reality games has become a norm in most of the American living rooms, and since parents are not yet sure what the game entails, they get to wonder the role that this innovative gaming environment that kids love will play in the lives of their children.
Most parents are worried about the health effects of virtual reality consoles because kids spend a lot of time playing instead of heading out and having a good old-fashioned game at the yard or a games court. In a research that was conducted by the Common Sense Media, 60% of the parents are worried about the VR games while the rest were looking at it as a promising environment for learning.
According to Saleh Stevens, he feels that educators and parents need to be aware of the powerful effects that VR has because studies are still ongoing on how the virtual environment can affect the developing brain. According to early research that was conducted on VR gaming, it was discovered that there was no need to exercise caution when children desired to play VR games.
Research on the impact of VR on children
In a research that was carried out by Common Sense Media and Stanford researchers, extensive research on the impact of VR in children was done on 12, 148 adults and among them, 3,163 were children. On this research, it was discovered that VR has a likelihood of affecting children in a manner that they can have a hard time distinguishing between reality and the fantasy world. At the same time, that vivid sharpness of the virtual reality environment is said to be an effective tool for learning.
According to Gretchen Walker who is the vice president of San Jose’s Tech Museum, where they house lots of VR exhibits, he believes that children can experiment a lot with this technology.
The advantages of VR Gaming
VR can give someone an experience like no other. Kids can design an environment where they can walk around in the 3-D model of the design. It is a great tool that brings experimenting to a whole new scale.
Students can use it to experience a flight simulation where the arms are used as flaps to soar around a city. The capability of VR is the power it gives a child to do things that would otherwise be impossible with real life.
Reasons why parents hold back their kids from using VR
Some parents are not comfortable letting their kids play with VR. They don’t see the need for exposing their children to a harmful environment that can bring harm to their kids, all for the sake of entertainment. Some parents state that it causes dizziness, nausea, and blackouts, making it not healthy for children.
According to Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab founder, Bailenson, he acknowledged the long-term effects that VR has on children has not yet been determined. The short-term effects that are certain include headache, eye strain and dizziness.
How parents should engage with their children on VR
It is important for parents to understand that they can purchase VR for their kids, but what needs to take effect is the need to set time limits for children and their teenagers. This is important because it helps to avoid any sensory overload. If you play five minutes in a VR environment, it would seem like a long time, and it can be a bit overwhelming for children that the usual gaming consoles.
Parents should also ensure that their children are in a safe space that is not close to sharp objects, walls, and pets. It is also important for parents to include a spotter in the gaming room to avoid an accident.
VR can encourage empathy since it builds virtual characters, although most parents are skeptical about this effect.
Although 62% of parents who were surveyed considered VR as a learning tool, only 22% of them had actually seen how their children were benefiting from VR learning.
VR has attracted a large debate on how much screen time should be allowed. According to Common Sense, they reported that teenagers spend 7 hours on a daily basis in front of a screen while kids under the age of 8 years spend about 2 hours.
For kids who have grown up in the tech gadget space, some are not vulnerable to its power. There are some activities that these kids will prefer to view on the VR environment, while most of the activities, they will prefer to watch through the flat screen.
All in all, Saleh Stevens recommends that parents should spend time with their kids and agree on the time the kids will use VR, and they should also look at ways their children will use it as a learning space.
