Since its inception and popularization in the early 2010’s, virtual reality technology has been used for a vast array of applications from education and art to engineering, entertainment, and beyond. Recently, immersive VR technology is also being used to address the issue of domestic abuse and violence in a series of experimental studies. The goal is to enhance emotional recognition skills and subsequently foster an increased capacity for empathy among domestic violence offenders. While this is clearly a deserving cause and noble goal, the question is does this application truly work or are we overestimating the power of virtual reality?
Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse, also referred to as domestic violence or intimate partner violence, is characterized as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. This includes physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, or economic actions designed to manipulate, coerce, frighten, intimidate, humiliate, injure, or terrorize someone. Domestic abuse can occur in any relationship and affects people of all backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and education levels.[1]
According to statistics published by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men have been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused by an intimate partner in the United States. Various negative mental, physical, sexual, and reproductive health effects have been linked to domestic violence and studies suggest that there is a direct relationship between domestic abuse, depression, and suicidal behavior.[2] Domestic abuse is a pervasive issue that leads to distressing outcomes and justifiably deserves extensive research into ways to combat and prevent its occurrence. Recently, researchers across the globe have been searching for a possible answer to this dilemma using virtual reality immersion.
Empathy and Emotional Recognition
The role of empathy and perspective-taking abilities in mediating aggressive behaviors has been a well-documented theory behind the occurrence of interpersonal violence. Theories of aggression have suggested that the perpetration of violence against others is linked to a lack of cognitive empathy or the ability of offenders to put themselves in the perspective of their victims and understand their emotions.
The ability to recognize emotions in the facial expressions of others is a key component of effective interpersonal communication.[3] Studies have shown that domestic abuse offenders have a significantly lower capacity for recognizing and understanding the emotions expressed in the faces of others and even tend to misclassify emotional expressions.
The VR Experiments
Researchers have come up with the idea of using immersive VR technology to give male offenders the sensation of experiencing an episode of domestic abuse from the perspective of a female victim. The researchers hypothesized that the virtual reality experience may foster cognitive empathy in violent offenders by having them “physically” embody the victim’s perspective, an ability that they clinically lack. The overall goal is to investigate how the difference in perspective during a violent interaction impacts empathy and an individual’s ability to recognize emotional facial cues in others.[3]
In one experiment, a group of male offenders who had been convicted of domestic violence against women were assessed on measures of their emotional recognition capacity and compared to a control group of men without any histories of violent offenses. The results showed that the men had a significantly lower ability to recognize fear in female faces. Not only did they typically fail to recognize emotions, but they also tended to mistakenly classify fearful expressions as appearing happy.
The men were then exposed to an immersive VR program that was designed to induce the illusion of full-body ownership over their female-bodied avatar thus allowing them to have a first-person experience as a female victim of domestic abuse. The avatars’ movements were perfectly synchronized with the movements of the participants’ bodies. The participants first underwent a process called embodiment designed to strengthen the illusion of being the avatar where they looked at themselves in a mirror and interacted with various objects in the virtual space.
Following this process, a male VR character enters the space and begins verbally abusing the participant. The male character proceeds to invade the participants’ personal space and throw objects such as a telephone onto the floor. If the participant spoke up, the male character commanded them to “shut up.” If they looked away, the male character shouted to them, “look at me!” After completing the virtual encounter, the offenders were again assessed on measures of their emotional recognition capacity. The results indicated that after being embodied in a female victim, the offenders showed an improved ability to recognize fearful female faces and reduced their tendency to misclassify fearful expressions as happy.[3]
Does this truly work?
Research has suggested that virtual reality can elicit strong emotional responses in the user, especially those linked to anxiety, stress, and fear. Other studies have found that some virtual reality programs can promote pro-social behavior among users, but only to a limited extent.[4]
While the results of this study indicated that VR may have promising applications for decreasing re-offenses among perpetrators of domestic abuse, similar studies have reached different conclusions. For example, studies have been published that show that virtual reality is not effective in generating long-term cognitive empathy that allows an individual to identify, understand, and relate to the emotions of others in various contexts. Other studies regarding VR and domestic violence have reported successful results in promoting cognitive empathy.[4] Further extensive, empirical, and peer-reviewed studies must be conducted to fully conclude if VR is a viable tool for addressing violent behaviors among domestic abuse offenders and if so, to what extent it works and how.
GKIS Resources
If you enjoyed reading this article, check out the GKIS Blog for many other articles on a wide array of interesting topics such as gaming, GKIS recommendations, impacts of social media, news-worthy stories, screen safety, popular apps, and so much more. You can also check out Dr. Tracy Bennett’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time: A Parenting Guide to Get Kids and Teens Internet Safe for family-tested parenting strategies that will help you build the tools you need to help your family navigate today’s technological pitfalls.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching the use of VR for combatting domestic violence and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe. Onward to More Awesome Parenting,
Virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly popular in the gaming community. VR allows consumers to experience new environments and activities that push the boundaries of creativity and possibility. Although VR offers excitement, studies have shown that the extended use of VR can lead to an uncomfortable mental health symptom called dissociation. Find out about VR-induced dissociation and the pros and cons of VR in today’s GKIS article. If you are worried about your kids’ extended use of VR gaming, our GKIS Screen Safety Essentials for the family offers weekly videos and downloads so you can achieve a peaceful fun home with healthy screen time. With 26 quick, fun lessons, our Essentials Course offers tons of ideas to keep you connected and safe. Keep reading to learn how to maintain your kids’ safety while giving them access to virtual fun.
What is virtual reality?
Virtual reality is gaming technology that simulates real or fantasy worlds that the players can immerse themselves into for a variety of activities. Immersion into the 3D VR world is possible by stimulating many senses all at once like vision, hearing, and touching.[1]
The Pros and Cons of VR Use
Pros
It’s fun and therapeutic!
VR can be really fun and exciting. It can serve as a mental break or escape from day-to-day routines and is a great way to connect with friends and meet new people with similar interests.
Access to new worlds and experiences can also be beneficial for those suffering from physical disabilities because they can experience activities that they cannot in the real world.
People with neurodevelopmental disabilities, like autism, can also benefit from VR. For example, an individual may use VR to learn how to better socialize in an environment where mistakes won’t lead to risks like in the real world. For example, as a behavioral intervention that works to help kids with autism, one of my patients has a goal of learning how to cross the street. Practicing in real life can be nerve-wracking and even dangerous due to the possibility of being hit by a car if my patient runs into the street from overstimulation. By practicing VR, he can eliminate risk as he learns to master this new skill.[2,3]
Work Training
VR also has potential benefits in the professional world as a safe way for training in many fields of work. For example, during the COVID19 pandemic, health care workers could interact with patients in VR without being exposed to the virus. VR has also allowed students and professionals to perfect skills and procedures before risking with real patients, like practicing a surgical technique for example.[4]
Cons
Feelings of Withdrawal and Disappointment with the Real World
For some people, what goes up must come down. Many players report feelings of sadness after play and a growing disappointment with real-life experiences. Tobias Schneider, a user of VR described feeling detached from the real world because it lacks the ‘magic’ and excitement VR has to offer. As an oculus user (a VR gaming system) myself, I recently went to their online forum and found that many users reported these feelings.[5]
Dissociation
Studies and forums have shown that VR has the potential risk of dissociation such as derealization and depersonalization. Derealization is this mental state where a person will feel so detached from their surroundings including people and objects, that the world will feel unreal. Depersonalization is this feeling that you are floating outside yourself. These types of dissociation occur for a variety of reasons, most typical in response to panic attacks and generalized anxiety. Theorists have described these symptoms as a defense that our bodies mobilize to protect us from stress. Other conditions that can cause dissociation include sensory deprivation, trauma, seizure disorders, dementia, and the use of hallucinogens or marijuana. Some people are even genetically prone to demonstrating this psychological symptom. Once a person dissociates once, they are more likely to dissociate again.
Although most people who dissociate describe it as a passing feeling, once one dissociates once they are more likely to do it again. For a minority of people, dissociation can occur often out of the blue in a condition called Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder.
A 2006 study examined the effects of VR use and found that for some players, episodes of dissociation increase after VR use. Even a gamer developer describes a time when they had to touch things around their surroundings after finishing a VR demo just to erase any lingering skepticism from her brain. If you look at the oculus forum, you will read many users complaining that their hands don’t feel like their own even after taking off the VR headset.[6,7,8,9]
Tips To Avoid the Negative Effects Of VR
Read your VR system’s instruction manual and safety warnings.
Start off with baby steps and play at a comfortable level that is not overwhelming.
Take frequent breaks when using VR.
When To Seek Professional Help
Having feelings of depersonalization or derealization that occasionally pass is common and should not necessarily cause alarm. But if these feelings of depersonalization or derealization become persistent and severe, this can be a sign of a physical or mental health disorder. You should seek immediate help from a doctor if these feelings are:
disturbing you or becoming disruptive to your emotional well-being,
become persistent and seem to never go away or improve, or
interfere with personal relationships, work, or other daily activities.
GKIS Resources That Can Help You Build Healthy Relationships with The VR World
Want a peaceful, fun home with healthy screen time, but don’t want to spend on something that won’t work for? Check out our GKIS Screen Safety Essentials Course. We have a free two-week trial so you can determine if it’s the right resource for you before you spend a penny. Plus, it includes videos and downloads from all GKIS parent courses that are designed for weekly viewing, making the material digestible and easy.
If you are not sure your child is ready to experience the online world check out our GKIS Social Media Readiness training. This self-paced course will get your kids ready for VR or anything in the online world. It includes mastery quizzes after each lesson to ensure they are prepared for online fun while maintaining safety. Guaranteed to make happy teens and relieved parents.
Digital injury is real, and many users run to forums when trying to understand the negative feelings they experience from the overuse of technology. With our GKIS Online Safety Red Flags For Parents, parents will learn which behavioral red flags to look out for that may signal that their kid is suffering from digital injury.
Virtual reality is a hot topic. You can also check out our other GKIS articles to learn more about the benefits and risks VR has to offer:
Thanks to CSUCI intern Ashley Salazar for researching and co-authoring this article. Prevent digital injury after VR use and check out our GKIS resources. They will help you launch a fun screen-safety dialogue. If you or a loved one is suffering from severe and persistent dissociation, please contact your health insurance provider and see a doctor.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Virtual reality (VR) software has become increasingly popular among young tech consumers. Users of the latest VR headset technology love to explore vast digital worlds and interact with other users. While there are many creative and exciting possibilities for this technology, intensive oversight is needed to ensure the safety of our kids in this brave new world of virtual reality. Unfortunately, recent reports have come forth detailing disturbing issues of sexual impropriety and exploitation of minors across virtual reality domains. It is important for parents to be aware of the possible risks of VR so that kids can be better protected while exploring its fun and creative applications. It’s also important for tweens and teens to be aware. That is why we created the Social Media Readiness Course. This course was designed to prepare kids and teens for the inherent risks of social media in order to prevent digital injuries and promote responsibility
What is the Metaverse?
The term metaverse appears to be one of those recent buzzwords that seemingly everyone has heard of yet understands very little about. People wonder if it’s a game, a new type of internet, or a singular virtual reality space inhabited by everyone who has a VR headset. As it exists right now, the metaverse refers to apps that use virtual reality technology. For example, someone can download a Jurassic-themed VR app that allows them to use their VR headsets to engage in a virtual space inhabited by dinosaurs. Or someone could download a different VR app that allows the user to virtually explore a museum. Although they are completely separate from one another, the virtual spaces provided by the two different apps collectively comprise the metaverse.
Kids may access adult-themed virtual domains.
The VR industry profits billions of dollars per year which has resulted in an enormous amount of VR apps being developed for consumer use. The expansion rate for app development is too fast for there to be comprehensive oversight of all the apps that children have access to download. This means that it is relatively easy for kids to download a VR app that may look innocent but end up being completely inappropriate for them. Additionally, some apps that should have stringent user-age restrictions simply don’t, allowing kids access to virtual strip clubs and other adult-themed spaces.
Children and Adults Mix
A researcher posing as a 13-year-old girl was given access to a virtual strip club while using a VR app that had a minimum user age agreement of 13. The researcher downloaded an app called VRChat which is characterized as an online virtual platform which users can navigate through as 3-D avatars. The app can be downloaded from an app store on Facebook’s Meta Quest VR headset, which only requires a Facebook account instead of an age verification. Inside of the app there are virtual rooms where users can meet and interact with one another. Some of these rooms are quite innocent such as popular fast-food restaurants whereas others are highly sexually explicit.
Upon entering the virtual strip club, the researcher was exposed to sex toys, condoms, and approached by adult male avatars who asked her to engage in erotic role play. The adult content is not restricted to a single room, rather it spans across multiple virtual rooms providing more points of access and exposure for young users. While pink flashing neon lights and booming music might signal sexual connotations to adults in the real world, to kids on a VR headset this might just look like an enticing feature of a fun video game.
Children using this app and others like it have reported being groomed by other users with adult avatars and forced to engage in virtual sex. The avatars on this app have the ability to get completely nude and simulate sex acts which may require the user wearing the headset to physically act out the motions themselves. The completely immersive nature of VR can make these experiences as traumatic and harmful as they would be in real life.
Parents Can Help
Parents can’t rely on tech companies and app developers to keep their children safe in a virtual reality space, especially with billions of dollars on the table. However, this doesn’t mean that kids should not be allowed to engage with this technology that also offers fun, creative, and educational experiences. Keep in mind that technology is like any other tool. The tool may be safe as long as it is being handled properly and wisely.
To optimize a safe and positive VR experience:
Research apps before allowing your kids to download them.
Take time to explore the virtual space yourself to sample what your kids will be seeing.
Periodically monitor the list of apps your kids have downloaded to ensure that no unapproved apps are being used.
Hold your children accountable to understand and guard against potential online risks that can lead to digital injury.
Check out our GKIS Social Media Readiness Course. Our course is a valuable tool that teaches tweens and teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to be prepared when encountering them. We also cover critical psychological wellness tools to optimize mental health and overall satisfaction.
Verbally check in with your kids about what their experiences in the metaverse are like.
If you have school-age kids, you’ll want to check out Dr. B’s GKIS Connected Family Course which offers essential tips for fostering this kind of open communication.
Finally, remember to be kind, create an environment that allows for open dialogue between you and your kids, and rest assured that you have provided your family with the tools to facilitate safe and healthy internet practices. For ideas on what to talk about and to stay up to date on relevant internet/gaming topics, read our weekly free articles on the GKIS Blog by signing up for our free Connected Family Agreement.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching some of the risks of virtual reality spaces for kids and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Video games have come a long way since Pong was first released in the 1970’s. Advances in gaming technology can enhance the experience for adults, but for children more realistic games are harder to distinguish from reality. At GKIS, our Social Media Readiness Course is designed to prepare your tweens and teens for the unexpected dangers of video games and social media sites. Our course is backed by Dr. Bennett’s years of experience helping tweens and teens who have already suffered digital injury from the unforeseen dangers found online. In this GKIS article we will cover the evolution of graphics and the steps gaming companies take to make games seem more real.
Video games Are Evolving
Video games are based in technology, and since players got their hands on Pong there has been a push to
advance that technology. Originally, video games were played using bulky arcade cabinets. The first home consoles were very restricted by their hardware. Games were flat and involved a character moving around the screen like a piece on a board. This all changed with the introduction of 3D graphics in the early 2000s. For the first time, video games had physical depth and the characters on screen moved more like a real person would.
Video games are striving every year to create a more realistic virtual environment. Games now have wind that moves individual leaves on tree branches, light that dances across the surface of the water, and characters that look real from a distance. Modern video games have advanced technology to foster a sense of extreme realism and maximize immersion. With such engaging digital experiences, it is important that children are provided with boundaries so as to prevent screen-time overload and digital injury. Our Screen Safety Essentials Course grants you access to weekly videos with parenting tips and coaching from Dr. Bennett that will help you pull your child out of their digital world and back into ours.
Motion Capture
It can be difficult to program a character to move in a realistic way. The awkward way early 3D characters moved unfortunately hampered immersion. Recently, the gaming industry began to use motion capture technology to solve this issue. Motion capture is a technique whereby a real human being is recorded in a studio as a program captures their motion and applies it to the game character to make the movement look as real as possible.
In a game called LA Noir, you are a 1940’s detective. One of the major objectives of the game is to interrogate suspects and solve crimes. For authenticity, developers created the characters with real facial expressions. The game used an advanced motion capture system to record the real facial expressions of the voice actors portraying the game characters. Players can tell what a character is feeling or if they’re lying based on facial expressions alone. The game uses very real human empathy and natural social cues as a part of the game, offering deeper immersion and better quality overall.
Real Game with Real Fear
Realistic graphics are fascinating when they’re used to make a character blink and breathe like a real person. Immersion is the goal, especially in horror games. Early horror games were limited in what they could create by the consoles of the time. However, as modern technology has evolved, new possibilities have opened for the horror genre.
Games can include motion-captured characters with realistic looks of fear and pain on their face. Horror games originally wanted to compete with the horror movie industry, but horror games now have the ability to do more than movies ever could.
For example, a game called Dead Space takes the classic zombie movie genre and sets it in a futuristic space station. An alien artifact mutates humans into nearly unkillable monsters. The game makes great use of body horror to drive home the alien nature of these dead humans. Body horror is a type of horror derived from twisting the human body into unnatural shapes creating nightmarish monsters. Our mind still sees that the monster is technically human, but is terrified by how wrong it has become. For example, in Dead Space, the zombie you are tasked to fight is a human with an open chest cavity and arms twisted in unnatural positions with sharpened bone where hands used to be. The key feature is that they still have a human face attached to the monstrous form to remind you that they used to be like you.
Immersion in horror games
The main thing horror games have over movies is the personal nature of the narrative and fear within. A zombie movie may be scary to watch as your favorite character fights for their life. However, an immersive game like Dead Space can make you feel like you’re the one fighting for your life. The immersive narrative attempts to draw you into the character’s shoes and, for the time you play, you can believe that you’re really in danger. The narrative takes on a whole new depth as suddenly you’re the one backed into a corner with only a handful of ammo and your wits.
Another dimension is that a game doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. When you run out of ammo, you know that you’re the one who’s going to die. Often when a gamer talks about an experience with a horror game, they speak in the first person. When I first played Dead Space, I remember the adrenaline rush I got when I had no ammo, because I knew I was going to have to fight my way out with my bare hands. The memory of playing a game differs from a movie because it stores itself as if the player had physically been there.
What does immersion mean for kids?
Realistic video games can be frightening and exciting to play. But at the end of the day, a player can still distinguish the game from reality. The same can’t be said for children exposed to the same things. Children have a harder time separating fantasy from reality.
As video games strive to be as close to reality as possible the task only gets harder. An adult who plays a particularly realistic horror game may have trouble sleeping for a night, but a child will suffer far worse than any adult.
Even outside of horror, we have shooter games that strive for realistic blood and death. Sniper Elite is a game that will follow the bullet fired from a sniper rifle through an enemy to show bones break and organs rupture as the bullet penetrates their body. These advances in immersion are great for taking a player into the world of a game, but only as long as that player has developed enough to pull themselves back out.
What can you do for your young gamer?
ESRB Ratings
Most video games come with an ESRB rating on the box to let players and parents know what type of audience the game is suitable for. If a game is rated for an audience older than your child, the game contains content inappropriate for their age group.
Our Connected Family Course is designed to help keep your family connected in a world separated by screens. Backed by years of psychological research our course is designed to keep your family connected and working together to prevent digital injury.
Play games with your kids
Make sure the game your child is playing is appropriate and get some fun bonding time in. You can learn what the game your kids are playing is really like by just spending time with them while they play. If a game is inappropriate, it’ll be hard to hide for long.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Jason T. Stewart for researching advances in the video game industry and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Walker, C. (2010, December 22). Video games and realism. Wake Forest News. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://news.wfu.edu/2010/12/22/video-games-and-realism/.
Psychologists have successfully treated phobias for decades. Starting with education about what anxiety is, they then offer calming tools in preparation for exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is a form of therapy where the client and therapist focus on a specific fear and attempts to relax and gain control of the situation.[1] Initially, psychologists recommend imagining the thing their client is most afraid of. Then, over time, they work toward exposures of the event in real life. This can be difficult in situations where the real-life object can’t be found (like airplanes, spiders, and injection needles). Technology now has a solution for us. It’s called Virtual Reality Exposure.
Imagine being terrified of riding in an elevator. You sit in your therapist’s office with a headset and you are virtually walking into and riding an elevator. After several sessions with your therapist and the headset, you can walk into an elevator and ride it up several stories. Virtual reality is giving people the opportunity to overcome their phobias in the comfort and safety of their therapist’s office.
What is virtual reality?
Virtual reality projects an environment that feels real, but is not. Users wear a headset that resembles large goggles that have screens instead of lenses. Once the headset is on, users can only see what is being shown on the screens. They can no longer see anything around them. There are sensors in the headset that can tell when users move their heads. The screen view moves along with users heads to make it feel real.[2]
Top 10 Phobias
Phobias are extreme reactions to certain situations. Below are the 10 most common phobias among people
Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders
Ophidiophobia: Fear of snakes
Acrophobia: Fear of heights
Aerophobia: Fear of flying
Cynophobia: Fear of dogs
Astraphobia: Fear of thunder and lightening
Trypanophobia: Fear of injections
Social Phobia: Fear of social situations
Agoraphobia: Fear of being alone in a situation or place where escape is difficult
Virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy allows the client to face the object of their phobia through the headset while being in the safety of their therapist’s office. The therapist then coaches the client to manage anxiety during virtual reality exposure.
Benefits of VR Exposure Therapy
Gradual Exposure is More Tolerable
VR exposure is less triggering than real-life exposure. It’s an awesome second step, after imaginal exposure, to get them where they need to be before direct exposures.
Saves Time and Money
Real-life exposure therapy typically requires time and money to travel to different locations to treat the phobia. With virtual reality exposure therapy, travel is not needed since the therapy takes place in the therapist’s office – convenient, inexpensive, quick, and effective.
More Confidential
Any emotion elicited from the exposures will not occur in front of anyone besides their therapist.
Therapist Has More Control
The therapist can stop the simulation if necessary for the client. The therapist could also repeat the same simulation multiple times if the client needs it.
Less Risk
The simulation can end whenever the client needs to. For example, the client can easily get off the airplane in VR but in real life, the client would have to stay on the airplane once it has started taking off.[4]
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Onward to more awesome parenting,
Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com
Works Cited
[1] exposure therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/exposure therapy
[2] Emspak, J. (2016, March 22). What Is Virtual Reality? Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/54116-virtual-reality.html
[3] Cherry, K. (2020, January 20). How Are the Most Common Phobias or Fears Treated? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/most-common-phobias-4136563
[4] Posted by Dr. Andrew Rosen, Rosen, D. A., & Anderson, J. (2017, April 7). Virtual Reality Therapy for Phobias. Retrieved from https://centerforanxietydisorders.com/virtual-reality-therapy-for-phobias/
We attach to those we spend the most time with. It only makes sense that the more time spent online, the more we develop our virtual selves and prefer online relationships. For some heavy screen users, attachment to online characters are taking precedence over in-real-life and virtual people. Exclusively virtual connections are most commonly in Asia, but they are starting to be seen in America as well. Find out if you know anybody who’s a stranded single, suffers from celibacy syndrome, or practices objectophilia!
Stranded Singles
Stranded Singles is a term coined by Professor Masahiro Yamada, a sociologist at Chuo University in Tokyo. It refers to the larger number of young Japanese adults who live at home with their parents and have diminished interest in engaging in real life romantic or sexual relationships.[3] Studies have shown that an increasing number of Japanese women, 16-24 years old, are “not interested in or despise sexual contact.”[4]
Trends in Japan May Be Just the Beginning
A 2015 study of 18 to 34 year old’s in Japan found:
~70% of unmarried men and 60% of unmarried women are single.
~44.2% of women and 42% of men admitted their virgin status.
30% of the men and 26% of the women were not looking for a relationship.[2]
75% of single women and 70% of single men had no sexual experience by the time they were 20 years old.[3]
Celibacy Syndrome
Celibacy Syndrome means “a departure from human affection.”[4] High rates of celibacy syndrome has been posited to be a main contributor for decreasing marriage rates in Japan. Changing gender roles, like Japanese women becoming more confident in their independence and success, may also be a contributor.
Pot Noodle Love
Pot Noodle Love refers to the increasingly common instant sexual gratification from casual sex, virtual relationships, anime, and online pornography.[4] Shocking statistics have recently revealed that, between the ages of 20 and 29, 30% of single females and 15% of single males have fallen in love with a character in a game or meme.[3]
Terms to Get Familiar With:
“Moe”- Refers to individuals who fall in love with fictional computer characters. This type of relationship allows the user to control the emotions and traits of their virtual partner. Content creators make these virtual characters to be appealing to both males and females.[3]
“Herbivores”- Refers to a male that does not find sex or relationships important.[4]
Objectophilia
Otherwise known as object sexuality, objectophilarefers to people who feel romantic, emotional, or sexual feelings toward an inanimate object(s).[5]
Real Life Examples:
Married to video game character – A 27-year-old man in Tokyo named Sal 9000 married Nene Anegasaki, a video game character from the Nintendo DS game Love Plus. Sal prefers his virtual girlfriend to real-life relationships, admitting that he is attracted, in part, because she doesn’t get mad at him for not replying immediately.[5]
Two Loves – In 2004, Erika Eiffel fell in love with her “soul mate,”the Eiffel Tower. She insists their marriage is as real as any real-life relationship.[6]
Two object relationships over a lifetime – At 12 years old, Joachim fell in love with his organ. Their relationship was described as “an emotionally and physically very complex and deep relationship.” The relationship lasted years, satisfying his need for an emotional connection. Currently, Joachim is in a long-term relationship with a steam locomotive.[6]
Married to a Hologram – For years, Akihiko Kondo felt ignored and shunned by women in real life.His luck changedwhen he fell in love with Hatsune Miku, a world-famous artist and hologram plays packed stadiums in Japan.[7]
Why Would Anyone Be an Objectophile?
Social Isolation –caused by living in a remote location, constant screen use, or impoverished motivation or social skills may lead a young adult.[1]
Control & Self Protection–when a relationship is one-sided, being socially inept doesn’t matter. Loving an object that cannot actively engage with you is one way to remain in control and avoid conflict altogether.[1]
Animism –a belief that objects and buildings have a sentient or spiritual existence.[1]
Digisexuals
Digisexuality is defined as a fundamental sexual identity that comes through using screen technology. It consists of two waves of “sexual technology:”[8]
“First Wave”- fully in affect.
Digital pornography
Live camera pornography
Live sex chats
“Direct communication technologies” are not designed with the intention of being used for sexual interaction but are commonly used for that purpose.[8]
Skype or Snapchat
“Second Wave”- evolving with technology.
Sex robots
Virtual reality sex[8]
Robots!
Many of us have seen TV shows and movies with extremely human-like robots. For instance, in the movie Her(2014) the main character falls in love with his digital assistant. Studies have found:
27% of 18 to 24-year- olds would consider dating a robot.[3][4]
Among the British population, men were three times more likely to form a relationship with a robot than a human woman.[3]
40% of 18 to 34-year-olds are worried that robots will eventually take their jobs.[3]
59% of all online traffic is generated by bots, including dating sites and social media sites.[6]
Experts have estimated that in approximately a decade, realistic sex robots will be common all over the world.[5] There are realistic sex robots on the market already. News reports show footage of men dressing their female robot and taking her to dinner. Due to artificial intelligence, the robots can respond to questions, carry conversations, and remember the responses the pleased you the most. Their pupils will even dilate and their skin warms and lubricates! The argument isn’t that robots are replacing humans, but rather people are preferring robots to humans.
Thanks to Sara Doyle, GKIS intern, for teaching us the new terminology for new types of love. Wondering how to protect your child from becoming an objectiphile?
[1] Hindustan Times. “Decoding Objectophilia: 5 reasons why people fall in love with objects.” Abhinav Verma, 2017.
[2] The Japan Times. “In sexless Japan, almost half of single young men and women are virgins: survey.” Mizuho Aoki, 2016.
[3] The Guardian. “For Japan’s ‘stranded singles’, virtual love beats the real thing.” Tracy McVeigh, 2016.
[4] The Observer Japan. “Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?”
Abigail Haworth, 2013.
[5] “10 People Who Fell in Love with Inanimate Objects.” Sean D., 2014.
[6] Psychology Today. “Intimate and Inanimate.” Mark D. Griffiths Ph.D., 2013.
[7] The New York Times. “Do You Take This Robot …” Alex Williams, 2019.
[8] Sexual & Relationship Therapy. “The rise of digisexuality: therapeutic challenges and possibilities.” McArthur, Neil, Twist, Markie L. C., 2017.
[9] Sandford: SPICE. “Japanese Education.” Lucien Ellington, 2005.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching the use of VR for combatting domestic violence and co-authoring this article.
