Every single year, we see a plethora of reports appear about next year’s UX and Design trends. Usually quite generic, and rarely containing novel content. The one trend and career path that has been a part of these lists for years now are AR and VR Design(er). If you’re planning on becoming a UX designer, you will have to step up your game either way as technologies keep improving at a rapid pace and users’ mental models keep changing at a rapid pace as well.

New AR and VR products keep hitting the market, with the latest ones removing the need to have a powerful PC to power the device. In other words, AR and VR glasses are becoming more portable and functional and have been offering high-quality resolutions.

But has it really kicked off yet? For example, the Apple Watch is nothing new, but not the most appealing product in Apple’s portfolio and it’s less necessary to own, unlike a mobile phone or even tablet. But, in just a quarter of 2020 alone, Apple sold 7.6 million watches. Looking at VR headsets, the most popular of the two types of devices, combining all brands, a total of 6.4 million items have been sold worldwide for the entire year. On top of that, sales could have been really high due to the pandemic. In short, these may be impressive numbers, but we’re definitely not there yet.

Your VR Set Up.

Reasons Why People Buy AR/VR Headsets

Still. I won’t deny that AR and VR headsets enable incredible digital experiences that we’ve never witnessed before. And I do believe that they will become mainstream in a few years' time when people won’t stare at you when, for example, you’re wearing your “really cool” VR headset on the plane to enjoy superior entertainment.

To no surprise, VR is mostly used to play games. Watching videos and live events come in second, while we have a fair amount of users utilising VR or AR for educational purposes.

Could the Adult Industry Push VR and AR Forward?

Although it’s rarely mentioned, the adult industry has been responsible for the mass adoption of many technologies and applications. Reading magazines, watching movies and TV, and the entire internet wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the adult entertainment industry (AEI). Let’s have a look at a couple of famous examples that significantly disrupted several industries and applications (some of the sources used: SCMP, Campaign, Business Insider. Plytix):

• Printed Press: way before the nineties.
• VCR adoption: Betamax lost this battle thanks to the AEI.
• Ecommerce platforms: subscription and membership models, pay-per-click (not only for e-commerce), opt-in, and several more inventions.
• Online Payments: one of the biggest breakthroughs that changed the way many online businesses operate.
• Affiliate and E-Mail Marketing: e-mail marketing has been banned for porn for now, and while Amazon holds the pattern for affiliate marketing, the AEI was originally responsible for introducing several affiliate marketing tactics.
• Streaming Services: well, I think this one is a no-brainer.
• Instant Messaging and Video Conferencing: Whether through streaming and other adult content websites, instant messaging was key to engage the user. The AEI was the first to introduce this feature. Together with streaming, we now have Skype, Zoom, Facetime, etc. Innocent services made available through the AEI. You might hate the idea, but you’re probably using messaging and video conferencing every day.
• Geo-location Services: Probably one of the biggest surprises. It wasn’t Foursquare, it was Yelp, it was straight-up porn that introduced geo-location software.

Look at all these AEI-powered inventions.

And the list goes on, we even have the AEI to thank for better cable TV (back in the day) and high-speed internet. You might hate it, but these services would have never hit the masses like they did today (or some of them during the last couple of decades) without the adult industry.

I’m not saying you should be grateful to this particular industry, even though you have to admit they know how to innovate. Also, using streaming services such as going live on Instagram, literally any messaging service, or using Skype or Zoom, … well, the AEI either invented the technology behind it or pulled it into mass-market usage.

Going back to AR and VR, The AEI is already witnessing an immense increase in the consumption of VR pornography. Providing content in ultra-high definition, interactive mode (before Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch) or 3D, the AEI could once again change AR and VR. For now, let’s wait and “see” what they will come up with next.

Enjoying the VR experience.

Perhaps AR and VR is What the Adult Entertainment Industry Needs

On the other hand, with adult user-generated content taking over the traditional paid websites, I can only imagine that the industry is taking a big hit. Everything has become pretty much free, which is also true for many digital services (remember Twitter?). As a consequence, the AEI has no other choice than to change its business model(s) once again. This is where VR and AR could come into play.

Some say that the AEI may have lost its touch and doesn’t seem to fuel innovation as much as it used to, compared to a time when adult content was much harder to get a hold of.

Furthermore, when we go back to the usage of VR, we notice that watching videos for example doesn’t score as high as playing games. However, we should be mindful of the fact that AR and VR technologies are still evolving and haven’t crossed the chasm yet.

Gaming is still king of AR and VR.

Be Mindful When Using AR and VR devices

Remember that using an AR/VR devices emit light from every possible angle, which could harm your eyes and ruin your sleep. Furthermore, nausea and dizziness are common symptoms as well and some users have even reported suffering from anxiety and depression after using AR/VR devices.

On a side-note, both AR and VR could be extremely helpful when training or guiding people for jobs that would either put him or her or someone else in danger if they would perform their training in a real scenario, such as medical students learning to conduct an operation.

Also, we haven’t seen or used half of what AR/VR can offer, from engaging home-exercises, usage in gyms on treadmills, checking out different location to decide where to go on vacation, helping with interior decoration, home repair guidance, and so on. It’s an exciting technology, and maybe the adult industry doesn't need to give this technology an extra push. Although it already did.