What Happens When Virtual Reality Gets Too Real - Digits - WSJ

2016: a big year for VR and ... trees; also see Virtual Reality Skeptic? These 3 PlayStation Demos Will Make You a Believer (BloombergBusiness)

"Researchers say that while the long-term impact of virtual reality is unknown, the technology could affect users’ outlook and viewpoints more than other once-new technologies — such as televisions, the Internet or mobile phones — because it creates more lifelike experiences and often makes users active, rather than passive, participants. These effects could become an issue for the virtual-reality industry as it expands, or fears could turn out to be overblown, such as concerns that microwaves cause cancer.

In the Stanford lab, researchers have found even a single experience can affect people. In one test, researchers found that test subjects who had just cut down a virtual tree used fewer paper towels when cleaning up a spill after the experience than subjects who hadn’t cut down a tree."

What Happens When Virtual Reality Gets Too Real - Digits - WSJ