Theriseofmobilephoneshasbeenblamedforanumberofsocialills,butyoursmartphonemayalsobemakingyouphysicallysickaswell.Scientistshaveidentifiedaconditioncalled“cybersickness”,whichtheysayisthedigitalversionofmotionsickness.Thephenomenon,whichaffectsupto80percentofthepopulationwhoownsmartphonesortablets,leadstofeelingsofnauseaandunsteadiness.Itiscausedbyseeingfastmotiononascreenandcoversanythingfromacarchaseinafilmtoscrollingthroughwebpagesonyourphone.Themorerealisticthevisualcontentis,thehigheryourchancesofgettingcybersickness.TheconditionwasidentifiedinapieceintheNewYorkTimesinwhichBritishandUSexpertssaidthatitneededaddressing.CyrielDiels,acognitivepsychologistandhumanfactorsresearcheratCoventryUniversity’scentreforMobilityandTransport,said:“It’safundamentalproblemthat’skindofbeensweptunderthecarpetinthetechindustry.”“It’sanaturalresponsetoanunnaturalenvironment.”Motionsicknessleavessufferersfeelingillbecausetheyfeelmovementinyourmusclesandyourinnerearbutdonotseeit.Themismatchindigitalsicknessistheopposite—youseemovementonthescreenbutdonotfeelit.Theeffectisthesameandthesymptomsincludeaheadache,wantingtothrowup,confusionandtheneedtositdown.Oftencybersicknessmanifestsitselfinasubtlewayandsufferersputitdowntostressoreyestrain.StevenRauch,aprofessorofotolaryngologyatHarvardMedicalSchool,said:“Yoursenseofbalanceisdifferentthanothersensesinthatithaslotsofinputs.”Whenthoseinputsdon’tagree,that’swhenyoufeeldizzinessandnausea“Somestudiesthathavebeencarriedoutintocybersicknessfoundthatwomenaremoresusceptiblethanmen,theNewYorkTimesreported.ThosewhohaveTypeA’personalities—meaningtheyareconfidentandassertive—aremorelikelytosufferfromcybersicknessaswell.Amongthosewhohavereportedexperiencingtheconditionhavebeenvideogamerswhospendhoursplayingfastpacedgames.Cinema-goershavestruggledwithsomescenesinactionmovieswhichhavequickcutsandfastediting—andvirtualrealityhasmadetheproblemevenworse.JonathanWeinstein,aprofessorattheKanbarInstituteforFilmandTelevisionatNewYorkUniversity’sTischSchooloftheArts,said:“Theideaistogetaudiencestofeellikeparticipantsintheactionratherthanoutsideobserversoftheaction.EngineersatOculusVR,thevirtualheadsetmanufacturer,haveadmittedthatdigitalmotionsicknessisoneoftheirbiggestproblems.
