There is a lot of disagreement at this point about where virtual reality will be going. One camp says that it will take over the world.
Another camp suspects that prolonged exposure is fundamentally bad for us physiologically, on both a proprioceptic and vestibular level. People who worry about this are especially concerned about the effect on the still-developing brains of children.
On the other hand, children generally don’t go out to bars for a drink after work. Which means that one of the more interesting conjectural questions doesn’t really pertain to them.
Namely: Will VR bars ever become a thing? Will you and I ever go out to a bar together to throw back a few and chill out together after a long day’s work?
Except that I will be in New York and you will be in California. Or wherever.
Note that we don’t have Skype bars. So clearly there is some test of “being there together” that video chat fails. But is that a limitation of video chat, or a fundamental property of physical co-presence?
My guess is as the technology continues to improve, at some point the need for social connection will eventually win out over the need for physical co-presence. VR bars will be a thing.
If you can prove me wrong, I’ll be happy to buy you a non-virtual drink.
They are building VR “arcades” in Beijing and Shanghai, and Tokyo has one, too. Here’s one news story about this. http://vrscout.com/news/bandai-namco-vr-arcade-tokyo/
Curious: how long are your sessions wearing VR goggles? Do you find there’s a limit to how long you can comfortably wear them?
Good question!
So far I have found that my time wearing VR goggles is not limited by any physiological discomfort, but rather by any compelling long form content that keeps me wanting to stay in there for long periods of time.
It is quite possible that once I encounter some content that would keep me wanting to be in the “other world” for, say, an hour or more, I might run into comfort issues. But that hasn’t happened yet.