This week many people who bought the Quest 2 on Amazon got this strange message.
Product Safety Alert July 27th, 2021 Stop using the following item because of a
potential safety issue.
Below you'll see the Quest 2 headset people bought.
If this came out of nowhere, you might get a bit of a scare, especially if you scroll
Reddit sometimes.
You hear horror stories like that recent one about a boy getting zapped by electricity,
and it looked like Quest 2 did it, but it probably wasn't the Quest 2's fault.
So is Amazon drunk, or is there really something unsafe about VR?
I'll tell you what's going on, and while we're at it, let's talk about the common safety
concerns many have.
Like, can VR damage your health, and is it unsafe for kids, and what can we do about
it?
First, some good news.
The safety alert from 2021 is most likely related to the facial interface recall from
the same date.
Quest 2 headsets bought before 1, had a face foam that caused a generally mild skin irritation
to a "very small percentage of users."
Meta, still Oculus back then, said this only affected 0.01% of people using Quest 2.
But it was enough for Amazon to temporarily pause selling Quest 2 in Europe back then
due to an EU Commission filing.
Why has this happened, though?
Well, the face covers the headsets had back then had certain substances that are skin
and eye irritants.
That's why some people could experience discomfort.
Meta addressed this issue pretty fast.
Their investigation showed that it was caused by a few trace substances usually present
in the manufacturing process, which was already at levels below the industry standard, but
out of caution, they changed the process to reduce it even further.
And they offered a free silicone VR cover replacement to anyone who bought the headset
before August 24th, 2021.
If you haven't yet, you can still contact Meta support to redeem one.
If you purchased your headset after this date, you should already have the new face cover
included, so you don't need to worry.
If you've been using the old face foam for a while already and you don't feel anything,
you should be fine, EXCEPT if you're not subscribed.
Please subscribe to stay up to date ;)
The interesting thing is that many people said they could get a refund from Amazon without
having to send back the device by contacting their support.
Your entitlement to a refund or replacement is probably still determined by your warranty
period, though.
But yes, it is still strange Amazon is giving out these alerts 1.5 years later.
Plus asking us to stop using the entire headset and not just the face cover.
Unfortunately, they haven't been clear on the exact issue.
So could it be that this is a new issue?
Looking at the date in the notice, it's likely to be the face cover thing.
It could be that Amazon just got around to associating these units with the old recall,
or maybe it's a website bug.
We don't know, except that Amazon is apparently late more often with these notices.
Weird by itself.
Frankly, it pisses me a bit off to see Amazon not clearly describing what's happening and
probably scaring people about VR for nothing.
So I wanted to dedicate a short section in this video to the most common safety concerns.
Especially now VR has taken off a bit with millions of units sold, they've become the
focus of health concerns.
First, the most obvious risk involves bumping into things in real life while playing VR.
Which can be quickly solved by putting a mat on the floor so you can feel your playspace
or ensuring you have the space.
Take it from a VR addict that I rarely bump into things anymore.
However, there's also growing concern about whether VR can damage your health.
People report headaches, eye strain, dizziness, disorientation, and nausea after using headsets.
Research says these are symptoms of motion sickness.
It's common but without long-term effects.
The most effective method of recovery seems to be limited use (about 15 minutes) with
breaks between sessions.
Interestingly, I did exactly that in my six years of using VR, and I am much better.
I used to get sick a lot, but it rarely happens now.
The VR community calls it having VR legs.
Anyways, there are also concerns that VR exposure causes visual disturbance, fatigue and that
regular use of VR could accelerate the global epidemic of myopia, a.k.a.
short-sightedness.
However, study says this could also happen with almost all activities performed close
to eyes, not only through VR or screens but also by reading traditional books.
There's also a way to prevent this; the 20-20-20 rule is suggested.
That's 20 seconds break every 20 min by looking 20 feet away.
Although investigation regarding these concerns seems comforting so far.
It is important to remember that Quest 2 and VR in general are still new, so we're not
sure how VR affects us yet because of limited up-to-date research on long-term effects.
More research is still needed to be sure of this.
This is probably why many headsets like PSVR or
Quest 2 have warning labels that say it's not suitable for children under ages 12 or
14.
This is likely to limit liability and prevent it until more research is done.
But I can imagine if you're a parent, you might wonder if VR is safe for kids if you
see these labels?
Scientists think prolonged VR use could affect younger people more than adults because they're
still developing their brains.
Whether that's really the case, we don't know yet.
For now, it's recommended to supervise your kid's VR use.
Make sure they don't use it too long at a time, take regular breaks, and help them understand
the difference between fantasy and reality.
However, this is actually the same recommendation for any form of media, not just VR headsets.
On the other hand, studies have shown that using VR headsets to improve cognition, like
improving attention, spatial awareness, or learning in general, is very promising.
So this is gonna be interesting.
What I can be sure of is my personal experience.
I've been using VR almost every day for over 6 years now.
Sometimes 2 hours a day and sometimes even 6 hours a day, and I haven't noticed any changes
in my sight or brain.
I mean, I still don't wear glasses, and I think my brain works.
Plus, VR has made me more active, so I feel healthier, and it has given me many fond memories
that I don't think I'll ever forget.
So I would say, always be cautious but don't be scared to get into VR.
If you really want to be careful, limiting exposure until more long-term studies are
conducted is an option.
But anything you use too much is bad for you, like even drinking too much water is not good
so having a good balance is never bad.
Tell me, have you experienced anything weird after using VR for a long time?
Or maybe something good?
Let me know in the comments below.
And if you're here because you experience discomfort like motion sickness.
I have a video here with 10 tips to prevent VR motion sickness; it has helped me a lot
throughout the years, so click here to watch more.
Thank you so much for watching; special thanks to our Champs.
VR on!
Dagdag.