Age Differences in a Virtual Reality Entertainment Environment: A Field Study

Abstract

The data presented below was collected at a Virtual Reality (VR) amusement center in Orlando, FL. This study is exploratory, i.e., an initial attempt to try and uncover factor(s) that may interact with age when determining user enjoyment of a VR ride. In addition, we measured each participant's state of wellbeing to see how the VR rides in the center impacted our participants. 28 people participated in the study. Three age groups, Young, Middle, and Old, were established from our sample (meanage=11, 28, and 50, respectively). Significant correlation's between age and several survey questions were found. Although one person dropped out there were no significant differences in sickness scores, either between age groups or collapsed across groups.