Presentation
Will the Metaverse Make Us Apes Again?: From Sedentary to “Cubaretary” - Ergonomics Exposes the Health Risks of Virtual and Augmented Reality
DescriptionOur lives in the future are expected to be lived as a “double-life”, taking place in two dimensions simultaneously - in the corporeal (physical-realistic) dimension and in the virtual dimension. Accordingly, a considerable part of our lives will occur in the metaverse environment (Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR) digital world), where we will be spending hours every day, both in work and leisure activities. The change in lifestyle that the metaverse revolution will lead to, may cause an adverse change in our physical (and mental) health.
In the lecture, through the integration of up-to-date and diverse knowledge from professional literature, we will attempt to predict the metaverse physical health costs - the consequences of the prolonged use of VR systems, on the user's physical health. Since intensive, long-term usage of systems (head-devices, remote-controls, etc.) will be necessary to function and participate in the metaverse, we are expected to pay a heavy health price for the ongoing interface with these objects. For example, humans may suffer from “Gorilla Arm Syndrome” (an overuse musculoskeletal disorder) and human lifestyle may change to a "Cubaretary Lifestyle" (Cubāre (Latin) - to lie down), which consequences will probably be even worse than those of the nowadays "Sedentary Lifestyle".
In addition to providing a broad overview of the phenomenon, we will also conduct a detailed analysis of the health benefits associated with the use of virtual reality as a therapeutic tool:
The potential of AR as a therapeutic tool for improving the function of individuals with disabilities, such as Parkinson's disease patients, has been theoretically promising. However, recent studies indicate that the use of AR not only fails to benefit Parkinson's patients but may even exacerbate their condition.
Since the dawn of history, for about three million years, humans have been designing tools – starting from the prehistoric stone hand-axe (the earliest tool used by hominids), to the VR remote-control (the gate to the upcoming technology). These advancements often come with health implications.
As a double-edged disruptive technology, virtual and augmented reality will not only affect our daily function, but may also exert long-term influence on human physical development, potentially at genetic and epigenetic levels.
Understanding the harm potential of the metaverse can help developers and designers to generate better VR systems, which will protect human health.
In the lecture, through the integration of up-to-date and diverse knowledge from professional literature, we will attempt to predict the metaverse physical health costs - the consequences of the prolonged use of VR systems, on the user's physical health. Since intensive, long-term usage of systems (head-devices, remote-controls, etc.) will be necessary to function and participate in the metaverse, we are expected to pay a heavy health price for the ongoing interface with these objects. For example, humans may suffer from “Gorilla Arm Syndrome” (an overuse musculoskeletal disorder) and human lifestyle may change to a "Cubaretary Lifestyle" (Cubāre (Latin) - to lie down), which consequences will probably be even worse than those of the nowadays "Sedentary Lifestyle".
In addition to providing a broad overview of the phenomenon, we will also conduct a detailed analysis of the health benefits associated with the use of virtual reality as a therapeutic tool:
The potential of AR as a therapeutic tool for improving the function of individuals with disabilities, such as Parkinson's disease patients, has been theoretically promising. However, recent studies indicate that the use of AR not only fails to benefit Parkinson's patients but may even exacerbate their condition.
Since the dawn of history, for about three million years, humans have been designing tools – starting from the prehistoric stone hand-axe (the earliest tool used by hominids), to the VR remote-control (the gate to the upcoming technology). These advancements often come with health implications.
As a double-edged disruptive technology, virtual and augmented reality will not only affect our daily function, but may also exert long-term influence on human physical development, potentially at genetic and epigenetic levels.
Understanding the harm potential of the metaverse can help developers and designers to generate better VR systems, which will protect human health.
Author
Event Type
Oral Presentations
TimeTuesday, March 2411:30am - 12:00pm EDT
LocationNassau
Digital Health