Dizziness, nausea, feeling of being tossed around when you are not moving. The phenomenon is surprising, especially since it sometimes arises after a simple evening of scrolling on your phone. Since 2020, screen time has increased, both in the office and at home. Researchers now describe a disorder that extends beyond virtual reality to affect the everyday use of smartphones: cyberkinetosis. The testimonies are accumulating, as are the physiological explanations. And it’s not just an impression.
Cyberkinetosis: screen sickness explained simply
A discreet unease settles into our digital routines. Cyberkinetosis refers to a conflict between what our eyes see and what the vestibular system of the inner ear, which manages balance, perceives. On a boat, the body moves while the view may seem stable. Here, it’s the opposite, we remain still while the images scroll. “From a clinical point of view, there is no difference between these two conditions.“, specifies Eugene Nalivaiko, associate professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia, specializing in motion sickness and cyberkinetic disease. “Whether symptoms or sensations, they are the same“, he adds.
At the height of the lockdowns, Jack Riewe used more screens to work, get information and have fun, to the point of feeling unwell and nauseated. “I was forced to stay in the furnace of my apartment, with no escape other than the nonsense we see on Twitter“, confides Jack Riewe to National Geographic.
In research, the phenomenon was first spotted with virtual reality headsets: in 2011, 30 to 80% of users were affected, then 25 to 60% in 2016 thanks to technical progress. “Any type of perceived movement will cause cyberkinetosis“, explains Kay Stanney, CEO and founder of Design Interactive, a company specializing in research into human systems integration. “Cyberkinetosis linked to virtual or augmented reality is similar to other forms of ailments linked to the perception of movements. Scrolling content on a screen would therefore be a new form of it..
Why is it running?
The risk increases when the phone is very close to the face, in the dark, lying down. Our resting frames of walls and floor then disappear from the visual field, which deprives the brain of stabilizing cues. According to Kay Stanney, “being laid might be one of the worst things to do“.”By moving it a little away from your face or consulting it in a lit room, these unwanted effects can be reduced.“, she explains.
Screen time matters, but not always in the same way depending on technology. “Before this study, my answer to the following statement would have been a resounding yes: the longer you are in this situation, the more disturbed you are. But augmented reality acts differently from virtual reality: the more you are in a situation of this nature, the better you feel. It’s very strange, she confides. I’m still trying to figure out the implications.“Another aggravating parameter is heat.”People who suffer from motion sickness sweat, feel hot and want to breathe fresh air“, underlines Eugene Nalivaiko.
Immediate actions to avoid nausea and dizziness
Sometimes, it is the sequence of long sessions that triggers the discomfort. In the middle of a professional deadline, Sarah Colley says she spent between ten and twelve hours a day on the computer, several days in a row, to the point of nausea and anxiety. “If I look at one and the same screen which is fixed, it doesn’t bother me. But it becomes problematic when I scroll through the content, she says. Even with my eyes closed, I feel like I’m spinning around“, said Sarah Colley. Cutting and changing activities were necessary to recover, a sign that a softer, nuanced and unpredictable message is sometimes imposed on the body.
Simple actions help reduce screen sickness without stopping everything all at once.
- Move the screen away from the face and consult in a lit room;
- Slow down scrolling to reduce perceived frame rate and visual movement;
- Hold the phone differently to change visual field;
- Take regular breaks and split sessions;
- Ventilate the room and keep cool;
- In VR, start with short sessions and gradually increase the duration, with a smooth image and low latency.