By Angelica Jasper, PhD Candidate in Human Computer Interaction, Iowa State University.
Have you ever felt the light from your computer screen shining into your eyes and making your head pound? Or do you feel dizzy or nauseous after looking at your phone? While you might think these sensations are just fatigue from staring at the screen for too long, they are actually symptoms of a condition called .
These issues may seem like a necessary evil with , remote learning, and the days we spend endlessly browsing online. But I can assure you, as a researcher in human-computer interaction, that there are ways to anticipate and avoid feeling sick from your screens.
What is cybersickness?
refers to a condition that occurs in the absence of physical movement, similar to motion sickness. These symptoms fall into three categories: nausea, oculomotor problems, and general disorientation. Symptoms, such as eye strain, fatigue, and headaches, involve overworking of the nerve that controls eye movement. Disorientation can manifest as dizziness and vertigo. And several symptoms of cybersickness, such as difficulty concentrating and blurred vision, overlap into categories. These problems can persist for hours and affect the quality of sleep.
People can experience symptoms of cybersickness through everyday devices such as computers, phones, and TVs. For example, Apple released a parallax effect on iPhone lock screens in 2013 that made the background image appear to float or change when a user moved their phone, which many people found extremely uncomfortable. It turns out that this was because it triggered the symptoms of cybersickness. Parallax scrolling on websites, where a background image remains static while the foreground content moves as you scroll, .
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There is no complete agreement among researchers about why people experience cybersickness. One prevailing idea, sensory conflict theory, hypothesizes that it is due to a mismatch of information perceived by the parts of the body that regulate vision and balance. Your eyes receive information that tells them that you are moving even if your body is not. The design of everyday technology can trigger this conflict between visual perception and physical experience.
Cyber dizziness in virtual and augmented reality
The symptoms of cybersickness tend to be more intense with the and the .
Virtual reality refers to technology that completely blocks your view of the real world and replaces it with an immersive artificial environment. It is widely available commercially through popular gaming platforms such as Facebook’s Oculus devices and Sony PlayStation VR. VR can cause severe levels of nausea that increase with duration of use. This can make certain apps and games unusable for many people.
Augmented reality, on the other hand, superimposes a simulated environment onto the real world. These could include head-mounted devices that still allow you to see what’s in front of you or something like on your phone or tablet. RA tends toward more severe oculomotor strain.
Even if you haven’t used virtual reality or augmented reality devices before, chances are you will in the next 10 years. An increase in the popularity of AR and VR use will likely trigger an increase in cybersickness symptoms. The market research firm Research and Markets estimates that the adoption of these technologies for work, education and entertainment can grow more than 60% and reach more than 900 billion dollars by 2027.
Symptoms of cybersickness can be dangerous
While the symptoms of cybersickness may initially seem benign, . This may not seem like a big deal at first. But these persistent symptoms could affect your ability to function in ways that could be dangerous.
For example, symptoms such as a severe headache, eyestrain, or dizziness can affect your coordination and attention. If these side effects persist while driving a vehicle, it could lead to a car accident. It is unclear whether the user, the software company, or some other party would be liable for injuries potentially caused by use of the device and symptoms of cybersickness.
Currently, not much is known about how chronic cybersickness affects daily life. Just as there is great variability in who is more prone to motion sickness, with , some people may be more prone to cyberbullying than others. Evidence suggests that women, men, and people with may experience more severe cybersickness.
Dealing with the symptoms of cybersickness
If you are struggling with the symptoms of cybersickness because you use your computer or phone for longer periods, there are ways to help relieve the discomfort. Blue light glasses are designed to block some of the blue light waves emitted by your device’s screen that can cause eye strain and sleep irregularities. Zooming in on a screen or using larger font sizes can also help reduce eye strain and make daily work more sustainable.
More people may begin to experience symptoms of cybersickness as virtual reality and augmented reality devices become more common in daily use.
If you’re interested in trying VR and AR apps but are prone to motion sickness, warning indicators like Oculus Comfort Ratings can help you know what to expect. Always be sure to visually calibrate the devices so that your eyes are as comfortable as possible and only use the devices in open spaces to minimize the risk of injury if you become dizzy and lose your balance. Take breaks if you start to feel any discomfort.
Use new technology safely
He has grown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people have replaced 9 to 5 and commutes with sweatpants, bedheads, and Zoom meetings. While the convenience is undeniable, it has also come with a growing awareness of how difficult it can be to stare at a screen for 40+ hours a week.
But don’t let cybersickness get you down. As researchers continue to find ways to mitigate and prevent cybersickness across devices, it is possible that one day people will be able to enjoy advances in innovative technologies without feeling dizzy.
Article published in The and provided for republication in .