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NCBI ROFL: Study finds that watching 3D movies makes 54.8% of people want to vomit.

By ncbi rofl | February 18, 2013 12:00 pm

Are There Side Effects to Watching 3D Movies? A Prospective Crossover Observational Study on Visually Induced Motion Sickness

“Background

The increasing popularity of commercial movies showing three dimensional (3D) images has raised concern about possible adverse side effects on viewers.

Methods and Findings

A prospective carryover observational study was designed to assess the effect of exposure (3D vs. 2D movie views) on self reported symptoms of visually induced motion sickness. The standardized Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was self administered on a convenience sample of 497 healthy adult volunteers before and after the vision of 2D and 3D movies. Viewers reporting some sickness (SSQ total score>15) were 54.8% of the total sample after the 3D movie compared to 14.1% of total sample after the 2D movie. Symptom intensity was 8.8 times higher than baseline after exposure to 3D movie (compared to the increase of 2 times the baseline after the 2D movie). Multivariate modeling of visually induced motion sickness as response variables pointed out the significant effects of exposure to 3D movie, history of car sickness and headache, after adjusting for gender, age, self reported anxiety level, attention to the movie and show time.

Conclusions

Seeing 3D movies can increase rating of symptoms of nausea, oculomotor and disorientation, especially in women with susceptible visual-vestibular system. Confirmatory studies which include examination of clinical signs on viewers are needed to pursue a conclusive evidence on the 3D vision effects on spectators.”

Photo: flickr/cleong

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Rob Hooft

There is something wrong here… two things, in fact: I can not understand how they got to 54.8%, and I don’t believe this thing has 3 significant digits……

54.8% of 497 subjects, how many are those? 272/497 = 0.54728… and 273/497 = 0.54929… No ratio gets to 54.8%. If we assume they counted 272 instances of nausea, the expected variance (Poisson distribution) is 272 too, making for a standard deviation of 16. Hence, the number to be reported should have been “roughly between 51.5% and 57.9%”, and even then there is a 32% chance that the “real” number is outside of this interval.
http://www.facebook.com/Otaku.Hanzo James Krummel

My question is why do the study anyway? They’re going to keep making 3D movies anyway as long as people pay to watch. I don’t care for 3D myself, but everyone has a right to their opinion. Those who get sick watching one shouldn’t do it, but to each their own you know.
http://www.facebook.com/dylan.palmer.9041 Dylan Palmer

Not for me. A couple times it has made my eyes uncomfortable but never nausea.
http://www.facebook.com/dgirwin1 Daniel Garrett Irwin

I wonder if a 2D IMAX showing makes people sick…
UFA

So it was the same relatively small group shown both movies? There wasn’t actually a control group? And it was only a self-report survey? What order were they shown the movies in? Was it the same movie in 2D and 3D? If not, did the movies at least have similar content, regardless of which format they were in? Did the participants know what the study was about, and if so, couldn’t that have led to a placebo effect?

Sorry, this is not very convincing. Obviously some people have issues with 3D movies, but this study and number is pretty dubious (to say nothing of Rob’s points).
http://www.facebook.com/randyromance Randy Garrison

if 3d bothers you physically,..then somethins wrong with you. ..nausea/vomiting? thats bull….i Love 3d movies..but only if their good movies. personally i wish more movies were 3d…when done right, it can be amazing
- InnerCynic
  
  My eyes are such that I don’t get any benefit from 3D. Just doesn’t work. So does that mean something is “wrong” with me? Let’s be honest here… 3D is a gimmicky way to pimp movies. And the idea of wearing a second set of glasses to get some sort of “benefit” for these gimmicks is pathetic. If the story can’t carry the tale and needs 3D to draw you in then it’s a weak sister of a movie. Some PC games oddly enough make me nauseous as hell, case in point Half Life 2, while others, like Unreal, don’t do a damn thing. Why? I haven’t a clue.
http://www.facebook.com/kunal.moorjani.9 Kunal Moorjani

You know what makes me puke? The prices of these 3D movies!