Virtual reality (VR) and the technology surrounding it can often lead to misconceptions and false claims. Most often, the fear of using VR is that the technology will isolate people and it will turn into a replacement for real-life interaction.
However, VR technology is just as interactive and engaging as any other social network or platform available to users today. People interact with each other in a virtual reality environment just as they do in their real lives.
Consider Pokémon Go, for example. While this is a single-player game that involves joining a team within the game, the widely popular app has quickly become a group activity for businesses, groups of friends, and even neighbours who want to search for and catch Pokémon creatures together.
Although Pokémon Go is an augmented reality app rather than VR, it’s still a valid example of how interactive games of modified reality can still foster social behaviour.
Another misconceived idea is that VR causes motion sickness. While this was true of earlier versions of VR devices, the technology has since improved. Headsets today boast of high-resolution display and fast head-tracking capabilities so that most people are able to enjoy VR experiences without any negative effects.
Earlier VR technology suffered from a lag between movement and vision; if, for example, you move your head to the right, you would expect the screen to refresh accordingly. If this happens in real time, the brain will know that what you are seeing is real. But when there is a time lag between the two, it causes sensory conflict, which in return can cause motion sickness.
For more myths about virtual reality: http://www.digitalcare.org/vr-myths-virtual-reality .