The porn industry has really upped its game over the past year since Covid-19 took over. Human contact was taken away from us, and the chances of having sex were stripped down from ‘maybe after a night out in Coppers’ to ‘maybe next year’. We really have been living in a world turned virtual with Zoom classes and meetings, and Face Time drinks, but what about our sex life?
Virtual Reality (VR) is the computer-generated simulation of a 3D image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way. This is done by using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.
The VR headsets range between roughly €300 – €800 in Ireland with some advanced gaming sets costing up tp €1,500.
These sets were created for gamers to experience that they were really inside the game.
But what does this have to do with sex? That’s a good question.
Many porn sites have adapted to this newer technology by creating some of their videos especially to be viewed wearing these VR headsets. It sensationalises the video to create an sex experience for the viewer. It’s all you can see, all you can hear, and makes it all feel real. Everything around you is cancelled out and you are almost living in this new reality.
In 2020 alone, 68 million VR units were sold, according to Statistica. 31% of these users are women, and a whopping 69% (the irony) of these users were men.
But what does this mean for real sex?
The VR Porn gaining traction can be seen to have benefits, but it can also be seen as worrying.
We already know the porn industry creates an unrealistic representation for impressionable teenagers on the act of sex. By over-sexualising a feminine woman and placing her in often a submissive role, these videos rarely pay any attention to her pleasure, but rather just being there to please the man.
Transforming this type of video into a more realistic experience for the viewer further contributes to the damaging representation of women in the porn industry, which then of course could lead to a knock on effect for the users during real life experiences.
However, this could also help those who are curious and inexperienced. By giving them a more realistic scenario could boost confidence and give them some insights to help with nerves and anxieties surrounding sex.
Whatever your take is on the niche that is VR sex, it certainly has taken the world by storm.