- An estimated 60% of the top virtual reality websites are porn sites, which means VR adult entertainment is big business.
- Porn director Erika Lust has made her first VR porn film called "360º of Lust." She told Insider it is "a kaleidoscope of eroticism and passion" that helps people explore their sexuality.
- DreamCam is a company that streams adult cam girl shows to users wearing VR headsets. CEO Stan Gearson told Insider it creates a more "human" experience.
- But psychologists also point out there are some concerns about using VR porn, like increased isolation, dissociation, and growing more discontent with reality.
- In moderation, VR porn could be a great tool for people who want to experiment and feel less alone — provided it doesn't overtake the desire to interact with people in the real world.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Erotic film director Erika Lust knew that one of the most common fantasies people have is to go to a sex party, so she wanted to make that possible with her first virtual reality porn film "360º of Lust."
"In front, you might see Kali masturbating, and behind you, she is having a threesome with Katana and Julia, and then to your right, she is performing oral sex on Mickey," she told Insider. "It's a kaleidoscope of eroticism and passion."
The VR industry is growing. It earned $3.6 billion in revenue in 2018, according to SuperData, which is a growth of 33% on the previous year, and is forecast to reach to $6.2 billion in 2019. Goldman Sachs estimated there will be almost 100 million users of VR in 2020, with almost half watching video content.
A study by VRPorn.com in 2018 found that "VR porn" is the number one generic search term associated with VR video, and 60% of the top VR websites are porn sites. In other words, if you have a VR headset, it's fairly likely you will end up watching porn on it at some point.
A more human experience
Martin*, 38, had already been visiting adult chatrooms for two years when he first became aware of VR porn. He noticed a banner on a streaming site and because he already had the VR glasses ready to go, decided to give it a try. He now regularly watches live cam shows on the headset to "remove the tension" after a long day at work.
"The experience exceeded expectations so I began to regularly communicate with girls in VR," he told Insider, wanting to remain anonymous. "This is a great service with great girls. It is true it is their work, but they are always reliably nice and positive."
Martin uses DreamCam, which is a VR adult entertainment company. It records and broadcasts 3D video of adults stars who can talk and interact with the audience. The idea is that clients can influence and request aspects of the performance by tipping the performers with tokens, to create a more "human experience."
He said his priorities are security and confidentiality. He'd rather his family did not find out about it, and using a headset is a more innocuous way to enjoy what he's doing than risk being recognized in a strip club, he said.
"I communicate with girls, keeping full secrecy," he said. "It's very comfortable throughout, as well as exciting. After using it I do feel better, more relaxed, more social than before."
'Users only need to put on their glasses and enjoy'
DreamCam CEO Stan Gearson told Insider that customers would choose to use a VR experience over physically going to a strip club for many reasons, including that they "only need to put on their glasses and enjoy — we have already done the rest."
Users also don't need to leave the house, which is an advantage for people who might not have that much mobility, he said. Plus it might even be cheaper if clients only pay the models directly, rather than worrying about expensive entry fees, drinks, and transport.
In these cases, a customer would traditionally choose a cam show, but Gearson said DreamCam takes it a step further. He said the main difference between using VR and chatting via a webcam is that "VR makes us believe in what is happening."
"When you look at a model with virtual reality glasses, you are focused on the same environment as the model and there are no distractions from external stimuli, as when simply staring at a computer screen," he said. "The experience is more immersive and therefore more shared, more human."
Exploration without judgment
Lust's films are not being live-streamed like a cam show, but play out like a porn video in 3D. She believes VR gives the viewer the opportunity to experiment with their sexuality in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
"You could explore what it means to be a submissive, or in a BDSM relationship before actually seeking out these scenarios in real life," she said. "Maybe you think you have a taste for something but you're not 100% sure yet ... Plus it can also be used in an educational way to learn about your own body and also how to interact with others."
Psychologist Jonathan Marshall, who has specialized in sex therapy, told Insider an immersive and multi-sensory 3D experience like VR porn has the potential to have much more of a grip over someone than regular porn videos.
"That can be a beautiful thing, and that can be a bad thing," he said. "I think it depends how one uses it."
He agrees that people could use it to discover what they are into. For example, if they are embarrassed by their kinks and don't feel like they can talk to anyone about it, they can go into the VR environment and try it out.
"It might be quite freeing," Marshall said. "There are so many stories of couples busting each other for VR porn, then going, 'Well actually why don't we do this together?', or 'I didn't know you were interested in threesomes, why don't we call the neighbor over?' So there are good sides to it."
Virtual partners could overindulge sadistic fantasies
A virtual world could also be a place where someone could try out some of their tastes that they think are wildly unconventional or even dangerous. Marshall spoke of one male client who used to visit prostitutes about 50 times per year and would enjoy having a command over women. Another young female client who could only get off when watching creepy YouTube videos.
Maybe if the sadistic side is fed too much — the fantasies keep getting darker, or the women keep getting younger — the user becomes unable to enjoy a regular sex life.
"Does that mean you no longer get to enjoy the boring, vanilla, missionary position with your spouse?" Marshall said. "Does the dark wolf grow too strong?"
There are also cyber ethics to consider, such as if it is possible to upload an avatar of your ex, or your brother's wife, and have sex with them in VR, and whether this is a breach of trust. These questions are only going to grow as VR technology gets more and more realistic.
"Are you being unfaithful to your partner? Are you being unfaithful to your brother?" Marshall asked.
'There's a lot less uncertainty in VR porn than if you were to go out or go on Tinder'
Psychologist Perpetua Neo told Insider that VR porn is "low hanging fruit" that shortcuts the dopamine circuit in the brain — putting in minimum effort for maximum reward.
"It's too easy," she said. "It captures all your senses, you have the biggest orgasms of your life, and as a result, bam, your brain loves it, your body loves it."
But when satisfaction is this easily achieved, someone may rather put on their headset and click a button than have regular human interaction or go pursue real-life human relationships.
"Compare that to having to find someone to date, and you're never sure if it's going to lead to anything else," Neo said. "Do they like me? Do they not like me? Will they want to sleep with me? There are all these big questions, so which is easier? There's a lot less uncertainty in VR porn than if you were to go out or go on Tinder."
On the one hand, technology like VR porn is supplying a means of pleasure and happiness for lonely people. But on the other, this can come with some internalized judgment and shame, Neo said
"As humans we are cocktails of personalities and emotions," she said. "We judge ourselves a lot of the time. So imagine you judge yourself for being hooked or only pursuing this mind-blowing VR sex — it's great, but you know it's not normal, so there's this big sense of shame."
It's a vicious cycle of feeling alone, using VR to fill the gap, and ending up even more isolated, she said.
Marshall said there's also the risk of a dissociation forming if you live your life differently when you have the goggles on.
"If you don't use it to integrate yourself, you risk dissociating, and I think that's a real danger," he said. "I could become this suddenly amazing guy who commands his VR dolls when he has his goggles on, and then I'm this sort of geeky guy who can't approach women outside."
If there's a disparity with our online lives and our real ones, we're fundamentally less happy, he said, because there's something on the inside that isn't working on the outside. And the more disharmony, the more damage can be done.
Increased reality can mean more respect for erotic performers
But Gearson doesn't see technology like DreamCam as alienating. He said it's like a social network because anyone in the world with access to the internet can wear a VR headset.
"When you are sad, lonely, or you do not have enough attention from the other person, VR will allow you to be transferred to the room of the performer, who will gladly keep you company for the evening," he said, adding that people who use DreamCam with VR goggles tend to watch longer and leave models more tips.
As the user is focused on the same environment as the performer, they get more attached and more willing to interact and talk about things, he said. They also haven't had to ban anyone yet for behaving badly.
"Thanks to the presence effect, which creates a sense of presence with the model in the same room, users behave more naturally, do not impersonate fake people, are less rude and tend not to do any trolling," he said. "We're observing that users communicate more like in real life, showing respect for the performers."
Lust sees the advantages of the consumer having a more realistic experience too, and she wants to open it up to a more female audience. Right now, VR porn is predominantly catered to men as they are the ones who are more likely to own a headset.
The camera tends to be placed over the male performer's head, so the viewer sees themselves with a male body. But this means the performers can't kiss or even just look at each other in the eyes, making the experience "cold and detached," she said.
"I wanted to see if the technology could be used in a more passionate and human way, to create a more immersive and emotive experience for the viewer," she said. "Instead of adopting the body of a performer I wanted the viewer to be a separate entity and to exist in the room as a voyeur."
The VR industry is still a relatively small part of the adult entertainment world, but Lust believes it can play a role in getting more sex positivity, diversity, and intelligent narratives in porn.
"'360º of Lust' was a bit of an experiment," she said. "But now that I've had a taste for it and learned a lot, I'm already thinking about the next one."
Habits become a problem when they take away real-life enjoyment
Marshall said there is huge potential for VR porn to be helpful, but it's important to know the signs of something we do for pleasure becoming an obsession.
"I think in some ways it's a bit like alcohol," he said. "If you can't enjoy yourself a similar amount without alcohol, then you probably have a bit of a dependency or addiction."
If using VR porn is harming productivity or wellbeing because you're avoiding real-life contact, it's probably a sign you're not using it in a healthy way.
Neo said a major red flag is if porn is being used to substitute or surrogate relationships you really want, and in turn actually stopping you from fulfilling what you really need.
"Like sex tech and fleshlights, people want something multi-sensorial," she said. "And if VR was going to take that to completely new heights and it's easy to access, of course people are going to do it.
"But at the end of the day, your robot girlfriend is just programmed to tell you things you want to hear."
*Name changed for anonymity.
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