Part 2: The Evil Effects of Virtual Reality

written by 10702 Kim Min Joo, 10801 Kang Seo Rin,

20121 Lee Go Eun, 20321 Yim Tae Hee

& 20720 Jeong Da Eun

Here is part two of the five-part series on the virtual world being a blessing or a curse. 

As virtual reality arises, not only good changes have occurred in the MZ generation.

If virtual reality is highlighted as a new technology, technologies that existed in the past can become less marketable. For example, since the advent of digital music (MP3), the number of the physical music stores has been greatly reduced.

This will also reduce the diversity of jobs that many Millennials and Gen Z can choose from. Virtual reality professions include virtual reality experts, virtual reality designers, and web developers, etc.

Gamers who participate in virtual reality games say they have an amazing experience in real life. However, according to the Brookings Institute of Social Sciences, virtual reality exposes numerous ethical problems in various fields, including games and performances.

On ethical matters, Darrell M. West, of the Institute’s Center for Technological Innovation cited Jennifer Haley’s play The Nether. The theme of the play is sex crimes. The question is whether regulation is possible when a person acts as vicious as in The Nether with evil intentions.

Analysts say it will not be easy to reach a social consensus as virtual reality belongs to a highly personal area based on the human brain. Pornography, novels, movies, photographs and paintings, which explicitly depict a person’s sexual activity, are found to be not only damaging to women but also justifying sexual violence.

West is concerned that if pornography is produced through virtual reality, it will cause serious social problems. It was feared that people would experience more vivid experiences in virtual reality and consequently become more violent or suffer from more severe sexophobia.

 

My Opinion

The more positive the effects of virtual reality there are, the more negative effects there are. Millennials and Gen Z are more often exposed to virtual reality. So there is a need for precise regulation regarding virtual reality.

For example, a cruel and violent subject such as sexual violence can’t be the subject of virtual reality. Legislation needs to enact laws against crime through virtual reality. Millennials and Gen Z will also require education related to virtual reality before they come across it. Education should prevent them from thinking wrongly and committing crimes through virtual reality.