Dharmesh Patel, chairman of The Eyecare Trust, says 3D images can cause headaches and vision problems in a significant portion of the population.
If your biggest barrier to playing games and watching movies in 3D is having to buy a new television, then consider yourself lucky, as research suggests that around 1 in 10 people can’t actually see 3D images, and could potentially suffer some discomfort if they try.
“About 12 per cent have 3D vision problems [in the UK] and you’ll find a similar percentage worldwide,” said Patel. “3D is appearing everywhere and there’s loads of people complaining that they can’t see it. There will be people who have not attended an eye examination in years and are probably unaware they have a lazy eye or something like that.”
“Some people won’t even know why they can’t see it. Sometimes something can be done, but it depends on the individual case,” he added.
“I don’t think there are any long-term negative impacts. But it can create really bad headaches and aches behind the eyes,” Patel said. “For these six million people [in the UK], it’s like taking the 3D glasses off, making everything all blurry. You can’t see the image and that causes headaches, eye-strain and blurred vision.”
It’s hard to say what, if any, effect will have on the growing trend of 3D media, because visual impairments of this kind have nothing to do with demographics or target markets, although at this early stage, anyone investing thousands of dollars in a 3D capable television is probably already going to know they enjoy 3D media. As long as 3D remains an as optional extra that people can take advantage of if they want to – and there’s no reason to think that will change any time soon – then it’s reasonable to think that the impact will be minimal.
Source: MCV
