Virtual reality & your mind

With your eyes and ears filled, it’s easy to lose track of time, your body and the room around you. That can feel restful or thrilling. It also means you need to plan breaks on purpose, because you may not notice when you need one.

Seeing a virtual body follow your movements can make it feel like yours. This is part of the fun of VR, and part of why unwanted contact from other users can feel personal.

Social VR lets people talk, play and meet in virtual rooms using their real voices. For some, it’s a lifeline of friendship. It also brings the same risks as other online spaces, sometimes more intensely.

In exposure therapy, people gradually face what they fear, like heights, flying or public speaking, until it loses its grip. A review of 30 trials found VR exposure worked about as well as real-life exposure for conditions including phobias, social anxiety, panic and PTSD.

Pediatricians note growing evidence that VR can be a useful therapy tool for children with phobias, PTSD or anxiety, and may help attention and memory in some children with ADHD.

In a 2023 study of adults using a social VR space during the pandemic, people reported less loneliness and social anxiety there than in their offline lives, especially when they met with a regular group of friends.

Another study found that feeling supported by friends in social VR was linked to better mental health. The key was real connection, not just hours spent.

VR can be pure joy: exploring places you may never visit, painting in 3D, dancing, or playing active games. Pediatricians suggest treating it as active screen time and keeping it in balance with other activities.

If you get motion sick in cars, boats or on rides, you’re more likely to feel it in VR too. It tends to ease once the headset comes off.

What can help

• Start with short sessions
• Choose calmer, seated experiences at first
• Stop as soon as you feel queasy
• Rest until you feel steady before standing or driving

Long sessions can cause tired, dry eyes because people blink less. Eye doctors say there’s no reason to think VR damages eyes, though long-term studies don’t exist yet. People with conditions that affect 3D vision may get more headaches or eye fatigue.

U.S. emergency room visits linked to VR rose 352% between 2017 and 2021. Fractures were most common, then cuts and bruises. Young children most often hurt their faces; adults over 55 most often hurt their upper body.

Stay safe

• Clear a space and set up the boundary feature
• Keep pets and small children out of the play area
• Use wrist straps on controllers
• Have someone nearby when trying new active games

Try this

1. Sit down for a minute after taking the headset off.
2. Name five things you can see and four you can touch.
3. Drink some water and feel your feet on the floor.
4. Talk to someone, or step outside for fresh air.

If feeling unreal lasts for hours, keeps returning, or frightens you, take a break from VR and talk with your clinical provider.

A 2025 study found that compulsive social VR use was linked to feeling less supported by people in real life. Meanwhile, healthy amounts of social VR were linked to better mental health through the support people felt there.

You might notice

• Feeling low or irritable when you can’t use VR
• Losing sleep to late sessions
• Real life feeling dull compared with the virtual one
• Pulling back from people offline
• Hiding how long you spend

If VR has become your main way to cope with loneliness, stress, grief or low mood, those feelings deserve attention too. A therapist or your clinical provider can help you find other ways to cope.

Look for

• A personal boundary that keeps other avatars at a distance
• Block and mute buttons
• A quick “safe zone” or pause button
• Privacy settings for who can find, follow or message you
• Report buttons, with a recording if possible

Steps

1. Take the headset off or leave the space. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
2. Block and report the person.
3. Tell someone you trust how you feel.
4. Use grounding if you feel shaken.

In one study, researchers found their reports of abusive users went unanswered. Keep reporting, and use blocking tools to protect yourself either way.

In the U.S., report online grooming or sexual exploitation of a child to the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 (24 hours).

Pediatricians note that young children can struggle to tell what happened in VR from what happened in real life. Scary or intense content may stay with them more than on a flat screen.

In 100 visits to a social VR platform in 2023, researchers found minors in 66, recorded 19 incidents of adults abusing minors, and found minors in adults-only spaces.

Pediatricians encourage young users to be honest about their age and to watch for inappropriate behaviour from other players.

Pediatricians suggest

• Ask what they experience in VR and how it makes them feel
• Build in regular breaks
• Check age ratings before downloading
• Keep VR in shared rooms so it stays social and easy to supervise
• Make sure VR doesn’t crowd out homework, exercise or family time
• Set limits on where, when and how long

Children may not recognise discomfort or think to take the headset off, so adults need to guide breaks.

Ideas

• A VR-free evening each week
• Meeting VR friends by video call or in person, if safe
• Pairing a VR session with a walk outside
• Keeping the headset out of the bedroom

Pediatricians list privacy among the main concerns families raise about VR. Check what the headset and apps collect, turn off what you don’t need, and keep personal details private in social spaces.

Try

• Ask them to show you their favourite world or game
• Say what you miss (“I miss our evenings”), not what they do wrong
• Suggest something you’ll both enjoy offline
• Agree on screen-free times together

Harassment in VR can be upsetting. Listen without saying “it’s only a game”. Help them block, report and, for a child, report to the CyberTipline if it involved sexual content or grooming.

In research, people who met with a regular group of friends in social VR felt less lonely and more like they belonged. Look for groups with clear rules, active moderators and a welcoming vibe.

You can help by

• Being a kind presence
• Reporting abuse when you see it
• Welcoming newcomers
• Speaking up when someone is targeted, if it feels safe

Free and confidential, 24/7. You can also chat at 988lifeline.org, for yourself or someone you’re worried about.

Free, 24/7 support by text with a trained crisis counselor.

Report at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day. Run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Find A Helpline (findahelpline.com) lists free, confidential helplines in more than 175 countries, by phone, text or chat.