These are systems that are designed to capture attention and addict you to the dopamine rush. That's absolutely brutal on a brain that seeks novelty and dopamine hits by design. It's the perfect trap.
In his words (oldest son) "I really worry about good VR because I would never leave. There would be limitless things to do and explore."
Even just a regular videogame with limited immersion can grab him for 8-16 hours and he will forget to eat during that time.
It's a different type of brain that developed a different way.
Compared to some other things, such as social media feeds, gaming is pretty much benign. Social media is always there, one click away, and you suddenly end up noticing that you're wasting time on one without getting anything in return, feeling like a dopamine junkie. I never "find myself playing a game" like that, it's a conscious decision to start playing and VR only adds a few more "do I really want to do this right now?" checkpoints due to its whole physical nature. The goggles won't suddenly appear on my face with me standing in a safe distance from room's furniture unless I choose to.
Maybe it's because I've been always more focused on creation rather than consumption. It's easy for me not to start watching a TV series, because I know that if I do, I won't be doing anything else for several days until I finish the binge, and I know that merely watching a thing made by someone else won't be as rewarding and engaging as creating something by myself, so it usually seems like a poor way to spend my time. As a result, I get most of my mainstream media literacy from memes.
