Watching VR Porn? Look at Your Watch. Time is Passing Faster Than You Think

When watching VR porn movies or playing VR games, time seems to pass 30 percent slower, a scientific study shows. This is not only a threat of extra hours spent in the virtual world but an opportunity to make better use of the technology – and perhaps a chance for our VR sex scenes to become even more popular!

The Research

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have discovered that virtual reality affects the perception of time. They created a maze computer game that works in two versions – in virtual reality and on a regular monitor. As it turned out, participants who played the VR version stopped playing an average of 72.6 seconds (28.5 percent) later than those playing the traditional version.

"This is the first time we've really been able to determine that it's not just about the video game itself or the content being viewed. What matters is the performance of virtual reality itself, which is different from a conventional screen," says Grayson Mullen one of the authors of the paper published in the "Timing & Time Perception" journal.

This way of perceiving time can be exploited, the researchers say. One experiment, for example, has already used virtual reality to distract people being treated with chemotherapy. VR could thus find use in reducing the inconvenience of certain medical procedures or long flights, for example. However, one should also be mindful of the dangers.

"Virtual reality kits are becoming more and more convenient, and games are becoming more and more realistic. I think it will be good to avoid treating them, for example, as a virtual casino, where someone will play for longer periods of time because they won't know how much time they've spent in it," warns Grayson Mullen.

The Side Effects?

Research on gaming addiction, meanwhile, indicates that a gamer's loss of a sense of time negatively affects his or her mood and rest cycle. So, in the case of virtual reality, these effects may be even more pronounced. The researchers are proposing simple solutions, such as adding a timer to the games, which will periodically appear in the field of view. Scientists are also wondering about the source of the observed phenomenon. They speculate that it may be about less awareness of one's own body.

"In virtual reality, when someone looks down where his body normally is, he may not see anything, or will only see a simple diagram of his body. However, there will be a lack of realistic sensations." – says study co-author Professor Nicolas Davidenko. "There are theories that our brains can rely on heartbeats or other body rhythms to determine time. So, if someone in the VR world is less in touch with his or her body, he or she may miss these impulses or the countdown mechanism," the specialist explains.

Future experiments, the researchers emphasize, will have the chance to provide new information on this subject, and this will help maximize the benefits of using VR and minimize potential harm. As you have probably already noticed, though, such negative side effects don't concern VR porn movies, so our chances for making use of our beloved technology are actually completely problem- and hassle-free. That's why you should keep coming back and watching more and more of such at VRBangers.com!