The virtual reality will eventually transform the way we approach social interaction. That is both a positive and negative development rolled into one. Especially when one other VR user suddenly collapses due to a seizure, there is a feeling of hopelessness that takes over. For various users of VRChat, it is evident such a situation is very close to home. The platform saw one user suffering from a seizure earlier this week.
A Troublesome Wake-up Call for VRChat Users
In a way, it is good to see solutions such as VRChat come to market. It is an online virtual community for virtual reality enthusiasts. It also lets users interact with people from all over the world and have fun. It’s always fun and games until you suddenly notice one user’s avatar writhing in pain on the ground. The owner of that avatar was suffering from a real-life epileptic seizure when this took place. It is a very sobering experience, only made even more too real thanks to the VR user’s full body tracking hardware.
Unfortunately, there is very little other users can do when something like this happens. All they can do is stand by, watch, and hope the player recovers on his own accord. VRChat is a very eerie place when things like this go down. It is an interesting and useful platform for many different reasons, but events like these tend to leave a bitter taste in people’s mouths. Other platform users cannot even notify 911 or similar services when events like these transpire.
Thankfully, the player in question eventually recovered from the epileptic seizure. He was also able to answer other users’ questions and ensure them everything was alright. This shows the positive sides of such online communities, as everyone showed genuine concern over what has happened. It does show VR is not all about fun and games, as events like these can transpire at any given moment.
Virtual reality technology can have a negative impact on the human body and brain. It is not a technology which should be trifled with, especially if you are suffering from any medical condition as of right now. Sharing such experiences with other players will hopefully raise more awareness regarding these issues. It is unclear if this seizure was caused by the VR hardware in question or not. Either way, this event raises a lot of new questions which no one can properly answer.
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