There are 171 million people currently using VR across the globe. As more of us tap into a new virtual reality, it’s no surprise that we’re bringing our emotions with us.
Extended reality has seeped its way into a wide number of sectors in 2023, making it almost unavoidable to most of us. Whether you’re introduced via a gaming platform, in the classroom or within the workplace, mixed reality tools have become popular for entertainment, education and much more.
VR as an application is known for providing experience on demand in a hyper-realistic setting. Depending on whether you’re tapping into a tranquil space on a workplace well-being program or fighting virtual monsters in the metaverse, each environment will cook up some serious cyberemotions.
The question is, as we spend lengthy amounts of time in a 3D universe, could we start to feel differently about the world around us?
What are cyberemotions?
According to Andrea Gaggioli, Professor of Psychology at the Catholic University, Milan, “Thanks to the growing integration of virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence into the fabric of our existence, we could experience new forms of emotions that we had never experienced before.”
After conducting a study into the impacts of extended reality on society's mental health, Gaggioli believes that spending time in a 3D world can induce a sense of ‘presence’ for a VR user, rendering a virtual environment just as impactful as reality when it comes to experiencing events and emotions.
If we can experience the same level of emotion in a virtual world as we do in reality, it’s no surprise that VR is now being used as a tool to help understand and improve mental health. From VR therapy to workplace wellbeing schemes, opening up new avenues for emotional experience could transform how we express and communicate with each other outside of VR.
“Cyberemotions, i.e. the emotions generated and experienced in virtual environments such as virtual reality, offer unique opportunities to better understand the functioning of human affective states and to develop new therapeutic, educational and awareness-raising approaches,” concludes Gaggioli.
However, could we also see negative effects of experiencing emotion in VR? Stick with us as we navigate mental health in virtual reality.
Navigating mental health in virtual reality
Virtual environments are an outlet for expression. You only have to look at the metaverse to see this in action. With the ability to create your own identity in a virtual world, the avenues of possibility are endless for those who feel as if they cannot be themselves in reality.
From communication to clothing, the metaverse has since become an environment for users to experience their true identity and connect with other like-minded users from across the globe.
However, this is just one VR solution that is impacting the mental health of mixed reality users.
Combating fears in VR
If we can experience cyberemotions in an augmented environment, it’s no surprise that new forms of VR-powered therapy have emerged in recent years.
In fact, VR environments have become one of the top spaces for users to deal with phobias, fears and PTSD-like symptoms. As a hyperrealistic space, it has never been easier to jump into exposure therapy while remaining in the comfort of your own home.
Take the VR developer Amelia Virtual Care for example. After creating over 70 different environments for patients to work through their own individual struggles, they have since teamed up with XR Health to provide exposure therapy for millions.
Bridge Trek is another example of the benefits of VR in mental health treatment. As a free Steam download for the Oculus Pro, it has helped turn a user’s fear of heights into a game in an attempt to balance positive and negative cyberemotions associated with phobias.
“A friend of mine confessed a crippling case of gephyrophobia (fear of bridges), so I created a VR “Bridge Simulator” where she could face her fears in a non-threatening virtual environment,” say developers at Another Planet. “The first bridge is only a foot off the ground and surrounded by pillows. Each bridge is increasingly more intimidating; rope bridges, bridges that cross fish-filled water, bridges made of glass. Gephyrophobic or not, it’s pretty intimidating, but you're only a glance away from the safety of your living room! Conquer those bridges!”
A tool for workplace wellbeing
According to Brian Moynihan, CEO of the Bank of America, “Companies provide wellness programs because they understand that healthier teammates enjoy their work more and can do more for their customers and their clients.”
So, as VR finds its way into the workplace, it’s no surprise that HR departments are using it to improve workplace wellbeing.
Employees can now work on their real-life stress in a virtual world as they enter tranquil, augmented environments. Not only do they feel as if they have been transported to a dimension far away from their working demands, but they are able to bring the relaxing state they enter in VR straight back to their desk in reality.
Take VirtualSpeech's Managing Workplace Stress course, for example. Transporting users to calming oceans and woodland backdrops, they are encouraged to explore in tranquillity. Better still, they can tap into wellness classes and tutorials for techniques on managing stress at work.
Are there any dangers?
Experiencing emotion in VR certainly sounds idyllic. With the ability to enter relaxing spaces for medication and safe spaces for phobia exploration, it’s no wonder that millions are dipping their toes into the world of cyberemotion.
However, if we’re able to feel emotion in a virtual world in the same way as we do in reality, where does that leave those who have negative experiences in a digital environment?
“VR can be stored in the brain’s memory centre in ways that are strikingly similar to real-world physical experiences,” says Jeremy Bailenson, author of Experience on Demand. “When VR is done well, the brain believes it is real.”
So for users that tap into scary, combative or even exposure-related VR environments, it’s not uncommon to be faced with negative responses such as panic, anger or in some cases, PTSD.
“If the content is frightening, violent, or anxiety-provoking, it can cause your body to react physically, including increasing your heart rate and blood pressure,” states Bailenson. “So don’t think of VR as a ‘media experience,’ because the brain sees it as similar to an actual experience. If it’s an activity that you’re ethically not comfortable with in real life, don’t do it. If you think of it that way, the guidelines on what you want to do in VR become very clear.”
Approaching cyberemotions with caution
It’s no secret that virtual reality has been transformative when it comes to addressing mental health.
With 1 in 4 people now experiencing a form of mental health crisis within their lifetime, VR could become a tool for change as it aids users in battling their emotions in a cyber-safe space.
However, like any real-life experience, virtual experiences can also carry negative repercussions, so it’s important to proceed with caution.
“If you were to do this in the real world, how would it affect you? That’s the way to think about virtual reality,” says Bailenson.
If cyberemotions are truly as powerful as they are in reality, users should view their experiences with the 3D world as an extension of their real life rather than an escape, especially as the lines between the physical and the digital continue to blur.
