Greater regulation of immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is needed, experts have claimed.

As part of the Immersive and Addictive Technologies inquiry, MPs will also discuss the effects of social media and gaming on society, with a particular focus on addiction and harmful behaviours through their use.

MPs were told that deeper examination and study was required to fully establish the effects of VR on people during the first hearing on the subject.

Sarah Jones, head of the School of Media at Birmingham City University, told MPs: “There are no guidelines for making such content and there is not enough data on what the longterm effects on the mind are.”

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In 2017, Jones spent two days inside a virtual reality environment as part of a study into the psychological effects of living in an alternate version of reality.

Jones’ research found that the impact on the individual was not as severe as she expected. However, she noted that “none of the big technology firms” were willing to support her project.

This, she told MPs, raised the question of “how long should you be in a VR headset for?”

“I was interested to see whether I would wake up and not know that I was in a virtual world and that didn’t happen,” Jones told the inquiry. “I didn’t lose all sense of disbelief.”

VR headsets produced by a host of tech firms generally set minimum age requirements for use. The Gear VR headset, developed by Samsung, says that the device should not be used by children under the age of 13.

Virtual reality headsets, along with playing video games or watching television, create a small risk of seizures triggered by flashing lights. However, only around 1 in 4000 people are believed to be affected by this.

Similar products to the Samsung Gear VR headset, such as Sony’s PlayStation VR product, is not for use by children under the age of 12. The Oculus Rift headset should not be used by children under the age of 14, the device manufacturer warns.

Ethical issues surrounding regulation and oversight, Jones told MPs, are still open to debate. No concise information on regulatory responsibility is available as of yet.

“There a lot of platforms offering VR and it is really easy to get content out. But where does it sit?” Jones asked.

“It doesn’t fall to Ofcom – but, wherever it does sit, there needs to be more regulation.”

Analysis: Overreaction or Justified Concerns?

DIGIT spoke to Dr Neil McDonnell – Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Research Fellow in VR and AR at the University of Glasgow – on the impact of immersive technologies such as VR.

McDonnell believes concerns over VR causing people to develop addictive behaviours raises mixed emotions. While there is a possibility that people may develop obsessive tendencies, the issue lies with people, and not the technology itself; which has a number of benefits.

“The tech provides for experiences that are extremely compelling, and extremely emotionally engaging, but most people with VR equipment hardly use it at all after an initial rush,” he explained. “The reason for that is that the content is not there yet to bring people back on a regular basis. When it does, and when some people become obsessive about it, some will think it is VR doing the addicting but, in my view, that is not a useful way to think about it.

“Addiction is a complex issue, and it covers substances, which create a kind of direct biological imperative (heroin, nicotine), and activities which are more like a mental-emotional imperative; say, sex addiction.”

McDonnell said he is confident that VR will not “create the biological imperative directly”. However, he concedes that it could become problematically compulsive for a “fairly wide range of people”.

“The problem isn’t with VR itself, though, no more than sex is a problem because some people become addicted to that,” McDonnell insisted.

Current manufacturer guidelines on the use of VR among minors are, by and large, overly cautious McDonnell believes.

“VR headsets standardly come with a prohibition for those under the age of 13. I suspect that they are being excessively cautious here in the absence of solid data,” he said.

“The unnatural way in which the eye focuses, and the brain process spatial information in VR, should mean that we tread carefully,” McDonnell added.

In this regard, the technology may need regulation, though.

“What impact on our eyes and perceptual processing does VR have when used by different age groups, or for different periods of time?” he asked.

“Does it affect our circadian rhythms more acutely than smartphones or laptop screens? To my knowledge, we lack this important information and once we have it, it may well make sense to put age restrictions on the devices or supply more usage guidelines,” McDonnell concluded.