Possible Health Concerns Associated With 3D Viewing

The world is getting all excited about 3D movie viewing and gaming and while it certainly sounds amazing, there may be some potential health risks involved, especially for younger children.

Those of you who plan to purchase the Nintendo 3DS for your kids or have a mind to bring 3D viewing into your home via a 3D HDTV and the PlayStation 3, should probably read this Audioholics article. You can form your own conclusions, but it talks about how humans utilize stereoscopic vision and how continued exposure to 3D video viewing could, theoretically, mess with that ability. Stereoscopic vision begins developing when we first start using our eyes, and most experts agree that it's complete by the time we turn six. That's when the nerves and muscles behind the eye are "fully formed and have learned to work in conjunction with the brain to respond automatically to visual cues that provide seamless depth of vision."

However, you may not know about strabismus:

"Unfortunately there’s a malaise in children that can prevent full stereopsis from developing, called strabismus. This condition is also called lazy-eye but has nothing to do with laziness; it’s an abnormal alignment of the eyes in which the eyes don’t focus on the same object and depth perception is compromised.

There is treatment for strabismus that involves helping a child’s nervous system to learn stereopsis, causing it to eventually become a natural response. But the ability to re-learn has its limitations, and treatment has been met with limited success beyond a certain age."

Recent medical evidence suggests that the nervous system "never stops learning and re-learing" so in other words, it's never too late to treat strabismus...while on the flip side of the coin, it's never too late to contract strabismus. The chances of contracting this illness lessens after the age of seven and - presumably - as we get older, but the risk may still be there. Just something to consider from a health standpoint.

Personally, I have no intention of over-indulging in 3D; I've always believed that might have some sort of backlash, like headaches or something.

Tags: 3d, games, movies, dangerous

6/27/2010 9:41:32 PM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Comments (58 posts)

Toggle Scrolling | Reload Comments

Riku994
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:04:58 PM
Reply

I went into a sony store today, put on the 3d glasses and looked at the tv....and it looked absolutely horrible. Blurry, jagged...not 3D at ALL. Am I missing something here?

1 up, 1 down

bigrailer19
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:09:12 PM

Was the t.v. projecting in 3d? IDK!?!?!

0 up, 0 down

Riku994
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:11:43 PM

The TV said 3D on it, and it looked blurry without the glasses too so I'm assuming.

1 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:01:57 PM

Maybe the store fools didn't know the glasses have to be the same brand as the TV.

1 up, 0 down

Riku994
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:05:28 PM

Because a sony store doesnt sell only sony things, right? ;P

1 up, 1 down

SvenMD
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:22:57 PM

You can turn the glasses on and off.... maybe they were off?

0 up, 0 down

Ayane
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:25:48 PM

Probably the 3d specs aren't working.
I went to a Sony Style recently, same problem. So I tried another pair of specs beside it and the 3D looked great.

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:39:48 PM

lol the glasses were most likely off. I did the same thing and it took me a few minutes to find the on/off button on the glasses. Once it turned on it looked stunning.

Last edited by Jawknee on 6/27/2010 11:39:58 PM

4 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 1:09:46 AM

doops, my bad.

1 up, 1 down

Riku994
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 8:55:44 AM

Huh....well that seems kinda lame to me, the old fashion blue and red glasses worked just fine, and they didnt need an on button. Unecessary accessorizing? I think so.

2 up, 5 down

Jawknee
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 10:29:59 AM

The green and red glasses are also 1950's technology. Some things are battery powered in the 21st century.

Welcome. :)

4 up, 0 down

JPBooch
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 2:17:17 PM

The glasses have to be SYNCED to the TV you are watching, at least I know for sure Sony TV's do.

That was probably the problem, you just can't slap a pair of 3D glasses on and watch it. Those aren't the glasses you get out of the Sugar Pops box when you were a kid. ;)

3 up, 0 down

Riku994
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 9:11:44 PM

I still think syncing and power buttons for these things are highly unecessary...

1 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:08:27 PM
Reply

3D makes my eyes melt after a little while. In light of this news I foresee lots of lawsuits for proprietors of the future of 3D.

5 up, 0 down

Cesar_ser_4
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 5:27:57 AM

but come on world absolutely EVERYONE reads the manuals of their respective devices before over using it...

5 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 4:20:58 PM

When I see the seizure warning on the screen I know the game is gonna be good :)

2 up, 0 down

JMO_INDY
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:10:34 PM
Reply

All thing have their health risks when over using or indulging something. It's a human reaction to over use, just fight it and take it easy. Just chill and enjoy gaming.

5 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:33:41 PM
Reply

I'll stick to HD

It's ok Sony, I'll support you on your next technological push, just not on this.

4 up, 1 down

StangMan80
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:35:39 PM
Reply

Well I hope it doesn't effect me to much because I am planning on getting a 3D tv later for GT5 and kill Zone 3.

Last edited by StangMan80 on 6/27/2010 10:36:34 PM

5 up, 0 down

Hezzron
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:37:48 PM
Reply

So it looks like 3D technology has to come down in price, and start including barf bags.

I'm gonna wait this 3D out for a good while. No way I'm gonna be a guinea pig.

5 up, 0 down

THEVERDIN
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 7:12:49 PM

Yep I with you on this one.

0 up, 0 down

CHAOS THEORY X
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:39:32 PM
Reply

So...
3D:Eyes-Cigarettes:Lungs
?

0 up, 0 down

SvenMD
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:24:51 PM

Yeouch.... flashbacks to the SAT's. Don't do that!!!

0 up, 0 down

johnld
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 12:01:26 AM

SATs are nothing compared to the Fundamentals of Engineering test i took. that was brutal. i failed it by 6 points, my friend failed by 1.

0 up, 0 down

DemonNeno
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 10:43:03 PM
Reply

I think this is the EXTREME end of things, personally. Again, everything in moderation, right boys? If you get a headache from 3D gaming, you should turn it off, not avoid your bodys' messages. If your depth reception tweaks, you probably shouldn't freak out because you may find yourself on the floor form not precieving the depth properly! Haha!! I kid, I kid!

Seriously though. I doubt this will be a bull blown epidemic. It may, however, warrant a reason for a user-beware implemented warning. No different than that whole Epilepsy warning games have. Siezing from too much machine gun feedback sounds scary, but how often have people (including those with epilepsy) triggered an seizure from it?

Food for thought! Interesting read, Ben!

2 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:52:42 PM

DemonNeno,
<<<I doubt this will be a bull blown epidemic>>>

Well, I sure hope not, I wouldn't want to see any visual images of either, Elsie, Borden, Elmers Glue, or even those California Cheese selling cows getting it on in 3D, over by the barnyard. LOL

2 up, 0 down

Qubex
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:17:57 PM
Reply

I haven't experienced 3D on the Sony PS3 platform yet. Whilst I hear that overall it seems the PS3 handles it pretty well... I am still skeptical of what has to be left out to make it really look good without suffering resolution drops and format changes...

The 3D revolution should have been spearheaded by the PS4... I feel the PS4 will have the power we really wanted and was promised by Sony in the PS3. PS3 is still a fantastic piece of work... but we will see what happens as it is pushed to the limits.

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

*Currently in SinCity, Singapore

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 1:46:18 AM

When they pushed the PS2 to it's limits we had GT4 in 1080i, and God of War 1 and 2 in 480p. When console hardware is designed well, it's limits can be redefined according to the methods used when programming it.

I remember back in the old days, really old days, on the Atari 400 and 800 home computers (these pre-dated even the 800XL from Atari) there was a technique that evolved that allowed those systems to display more than the 16 colors they were supposed to be able to display. Those systems featured a combination of graphics processing elements that could be considered a rudimentary GPU. programmers would rewrite the color information in the list of graphics commands (the display list) allowing the system to display up to 128 colors on screen at one time.

More of the same redefining limits happened with the original PS2 which was not supposed to be capable of progressive scan. Except that the games late in the life of the system (eg SC3, Madden and GT4) were able to produce progressive scan output on the PS2 by directly driving the output with software instead of relying on the basic hardware. This essentially redefined the limits of what could be done on the PS2.

I'm just saying that I don't think we'll see the PS3 reach it's limits until the folks at Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and a few other first party studios come out and say that there's no more headroom left. However sine they all say that they are still finding more power in there, I think we're OK for another year or two...

2 up, 0 down

Cesar_ser_4
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 5:32:34 AM

Didnt insomniac recently go multiplat?

0 up, 0 down

Orvisman
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 8:11:02 AM

For one game as of right now, they are still developing exclusive titles for Sony and the PS3.

0 up, 0 down

SvenMD
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:27:44 PM
Reply

Don't all new pieces of tech have some warning?? Eye strain, carpal tunnel, seizures.... It's the reason your Wii tells you to take a break every 15 minutes. I don't like my machines tellin' me what to do. Damn you skynet!!

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:58:49 PM

Hell, my 360 would have dropped dead of a heart attack if I had it turned on the same 37 hours straight marathon I played "The Saboteur" that day/night/and day again, on my good old granddad of a 60 gigger PS3.

Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/27/2010 11:59:03 PM

1 up, 0 down

kraygen
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 1:52:37 AM

@ biker

Sounds like one awesome weekend to me man.

1 up, 0 down

SvenMD
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 8:09:04 AM

That's hardcore man...I seriously think the longest I've ever gone is around 18 hours...You wake up Saturday morning and you just play till after midnight.

0 up, 0 down

main_event05
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:29:31 PM
Reply

so, if i buy a 3d tv will i have the option of disabling the 3d display?

1 up, 0 down

johnld
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 12:05:34 AM

i believe you can turn off the 3d display because they dont even give you any glasses when you buy an expensive 3dtv. what the hell is up with that? best buy has a deal where you'll get a "starter pack" which comes with 2 3d glasses and a bluray disc with 3d. the catch is you buy a samsung bluray player along with your samsung 3dtv. they should at least include 2 glasses when you buy a tv.

4 up, 0 down

Robochic
Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 11:57:29 PM
Reply

Doesn't suprise me but like with every new techology u need to READ the warning before purchasing, I'm smart enough I know what happens when I watch 3D so I will not be purchasing anytime soon unless I find a cure for motion sickness ;)

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 12:24:42 AM
Reply

Folks, before everyone starts blasting this as scare mongering, it's well documented that a fairly large number of people (adults, not just young children) have problems with the Stereoscopic 3D. Headache and nausea are the most commonly reported effects. But in reality since the TV can NOT replicate the same depth of field and 3D perspective that human vision in the real world has naturally, there are bound to be issues for sensitive individuals.

I suspect that those people who are easily susceptible to motion sickness will have the most problems with 3D, along with those who have epilepsy or other types of seizure disorder.

3 up, 2 down

kraygen
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 2:00:12 AM
Reply

It's possible for sure, some people are susceptible to things that others aren't, but like with the epilepsy some get from video games, it's a small portion of the populace.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 2:13:45 AM

The number of people who suffer from motion sickness and similar problems is far larger than the number of epileptics though.

All I am saying is that we should be careful not to minimize this, nor should we overstate this.

1 up, 0 down

___________
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 3:03:11 AM

thats one thing ive been confused about.
i always suffer motion sickness in the car or sea sickness on the boat.
i cant read in the car, i cant watch a movie in the car, i cant play my PSP in the car.
but for some reason 3D does not give me motion sickness.
i stayed playing metro 2033 in 3D for 4 hours straight the other night and i was fine.

i think it may have something to do with the different types of 3D being used.
when i went to watch the avatar at the Imax which uses the polarized technique it gave me a headache.
but when i went to see COTT in 3D at event cinema who use real D i was fine.

i was talking to my tafe teacher the other day and he said he thinks its due to the polarized technique used in some 3D content, it causes strain on the eyes and there fore gives some people headaches.

0 up, 0 down

___________
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 2:58:35 AM
Reply

for kids yeah i can understand that, nintendo have said anyone under the age of 8 i think it was should not use the 3DS.

but with that said what is not bad for your health?
honestly, if we were to stay away from thing that are bad for us than we would be confined to our rooms doing nothing all day!
as the saying goes everything in moderation.
playing games for extended periods of time, or staring at screens for extended periods of time is bad for your eyes.
does that mean we should stop playing games?

its bad for your health to go outside because the sun could give you skin cancer so does that mean we should stay inside all day?

people take these things far to sensetivley, somethings bad for us, so we have to stay 10 KMs away from it at all times.
honestly, lifes too short to avoid things.
if its fun, DO IT!
as bart simpson said, live hard, die young, and leave a big fat corpse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 up, 0 down

CrazyIrishBoy
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 12:50:23 PM

Thats true, but you wouldnt poke yourself in the eye with a needle would you?? :P
Apart from that i completely agree with what your saying :D And I dont believe 3D is harmful.. not yet anyway :P

0 up, 0 down

JackC8
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 7:15:23 AM
Reply

My eyes got really tired just playing Killzone 2 for a couple of hours a night. Constantly panning the camera around, trying to keep track of dark environments as they jerked back and forth all over the place, while trying to focus on minute parts of the screen where your enemy was shooting at you...I can just imagine it with a fake 3-D effect added on. It would really create a ton of work for your eyeballs to process.

Oh well, cant' afford it any way.

0 up, 0 down

dork02840
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 7:35:04 AM
Reply

ben i had this problem most of my life. i had strabismus surgery when i was 26. they did not catch it before then. basically the strabismus cords develop unevenly. so to fix it they go behind your eyes and snip one and make sure they are even. i can tell you from experience that even though it helps, there is a ton of scar pain associated with the laser surgery. especially if you are older. it helps with depth perception but does not totally eliminate it. they caught mine too late and my left eye is color deficient as a result of them not catching it earlier. they used the 4 color strobe on me and basically my right eye can see both red and both green but my left eye can only see 2. yet another reason why the 3d trend sucks.

0 up, 1 down

NeoHumpty
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 9:20:37 AM
Reply

I'd like to add that I went to see Toy Story 3D yesterday, and wasn't really impressed by what 3D brought to it. I was more into the effects of Alice. I'm upgrading come tax time, but it would have to be a good deal for me to go 3D.

0 up, 0 down

CrazyIrishBoy
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 12:54:27 PM
Reply

From what i know.. lazy eye is simply fixed by putting a patch over the non lazy eye until the lazy eye becomes unlazified :D Its not really serious as far as i know

I suppose if both eyes become lazy, "lazy eyes" :P you just have to start using them more! And stop using 3d for a while, u will look pretty stupid tho with two lazy eyes.

Im not joking thats actually how ive seen lazy eye been treated, the patch thing :P

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 3:15:51 PM

Having impaired depth perception is not serious? Are you kidding me?

1 up, 2 down

CrazyIrishBoy
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 @ 12:13:00 PM

Well OBVIOUSLY not having a sense of depth on an object is serious, but all im sayin is that, "as far as i know" it is easily fixed, i didnt do any research or anything on it, im just sayin :P

1 up, 0 down

CharlesD
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 3:55:32 PM
Reply

online gamers might have an issue w. this due to the extended periods of time they tend to play for

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 3:56:44 PM
Reply

Here's some interesting 3D related articles....

Toshiba designs "glasses free" 3D display

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49540-toshiba-designs-glasses-free-3d-display

Hitachi touts "glasses-free" 3D display

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49358-hitachi-touts-glasses-free-3d-display

Sharp announces four-color 3D LCD displays

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49327-sharp-announces-four-color-3d-lcd-displays

Monster's "universal" 3D shutter glasses aren't crazy expensive

http://www.tgdaily.com/consumer-electronics-brief/50317-monsters-universal-3d-shutter-glasses-arent-crazy-expensive

Disney signs 3D deal with Imax

http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/50334-disney-signs-3d-deal-with-imax

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 4:04:34 PM
Reply

Well, I'm not sure if 3D will help or hinder some of those gamers with lazy eye, but here's a doctor who used an innovative way to help this one boy, he used gaming to do it.

UK Boy's Eyesight Saved By Mario Kart June 25, 2010

At the age of 4 Ben Michaels was diagnosed with amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye syndrome."

The condition caused the vision in his right eye to gradually decrease over time. If it had gone untreated, Ben would have completely lost the vision in his right eye.

But a clever doctor came up with a unique therapy to help Ben strengthen the vision in his right eye gradually over time using a Nintendo DS, Mario Kart and an eye patch.

That therapy saw Ben's vision in his right eye go from "near blindness" to an improvement of "250 percent."

Read the full story here:

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/06/25/uk-boy039s-eyesight-saved-mario-kart

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Monday, June 28, 2010 @ 4:08:34 PM
Reply

Skeptical Sony questions Nintendo 3DS announcement

http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/49053-skeptical-sony-questions-nintendo-3ds-announcement

***(Related to Sony's above story)****

NVIDIA unconnected with 3DS

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/nvidia-unconnected-with-3ds-blog-entry

Report: Nintendo 3DS is Tegra-less

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/50127-report-nintendo-3ds-is-tegra-less

0 up, 0 down

ThePoetRazel
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 @ 5:35:28 PM
Reply

Read the audioholics article and laughed. First, they only assumed that strabismus can be learned from stereoscopic tech. First rule of science is never assume anything.
It's sensationalist nonsense full of allusions to conspiracys.
Like all smart pseudo-science, they place enough real science around their claims to make it appear that their claims are backed up by science.
I think i'd rather take my health advice from qualified professionals and respected medical health journals. When the Lancet has an article on the dangers of stereoscopic tech, i'll listen. Until then, i'll remain skeptical of this sort of nonsense.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 @ 11:20:18 PM

Unfortunately there are (as far as I am aware) no independent medical trials of stereoscopic 3D either for games or movies.

0 up, 0 down

big mac
Friday, July 02, 2010 @ 12:23:01 AM
Reply

who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way

0 up, 0 down

big mac
Friday, July 02, 2010 @ 12:23:05 AM
Reply

who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way

0 up, 0 down

big mac
Friday, July 02, 2010 @ 12:23:09 AM
Reply

who wants to wear geeky 3d glasses the whole day any way

0 up, 0 down

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cheats	PS2
London 2012: The Official Video Game Of The Olympics cheats	PS3
WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain cheats	PS2
Final Fantasy VIII cheats	PS1
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin cheats	PS2
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat cheats	PS2
NCAA Football 2007 cheats	PS2
Midnight Club: LA Remix cheats	PSP
Samurai Western cheats	PS2

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
	Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
	No, but I'll get one eventually.
	No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
	No, I've already got one.

Playstation 3

Playstation 4

PSP

Playstation Vita

Playstation 2

Playstation

Other

PSX Extreme

Site Stats

Possible Health Concerns Associated With 3D Viewing

Comments (58 posts)

Leave a Comment

Latest Updates

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Popular Sections

Extras

Sponsor

Our Poll

Resident Evil: Revelations review	PS3
Metro: Last Light review	PS3
Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov's Revenge review	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review	PS3
Star Trek: The Video Game review	PS3
Injustice: Gods Among Us review	PS3
Dead Island: Riptide review	PS3
Defiance review	PS3
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 review	PS3
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel review	PS3

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified preview	PS3
Time and Eternity preview	PS3
Ride to Hell: Retribution preview	PS3
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger preview	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon preview	PS3
Spartacus Legends preview	PS3
Payday 2 preview	PS3
DUST 514 preview	PS3
Dynasty Warriors 8 preview	PS3
Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness preview	PS3