Films in 3D are the latest wheeze to get bums on seats in cinemas and 3D-TV is now technically available if you can afford the set and can find something to watch on it. However, a problem has surfaced: eyestrain. Some filmgoers say that viewing movies using special glasses is causing them eye problems, headaches and nausea.

May cause eyestrain? Click to enlarge

The issue is common to any medium that attempts to create the illusion of depth using stereoscopic images, which require users to distinguish the images in a way that isn’t natural to the brain. Similar symptoms, Slate magazine points out, plague flight simulators, head-mounted virtual-reality displays, and other applications of 3-D technology. The technical term is asthenopia.

The term 3D fatigue (also 3-D fatigue) is new: it started to be used in blogs and reviews in the autumn of 2009, after the 3D films Coraline and Up were released but before Avatar. The trouble is far from new, however, since it was one reason why the last try at producing 3D films, back in the 1950s, failed to catch on.

Following the recent spate of 3D films, with many more to come, some moviegoers have borrowed 3D fatigue to refer to boredom with the technique, which they argue adds technical spectacle without enhancing storylines.

It appears entertainment can be bad for our health. A UC Berkeley vision scientist is calling attention to what he calls “3D fatigue.” His research shows [that] if 3D movies or television is done badly, it strains the viewer’s eyes.

ABC News, 24 Feb. 2010.

Viewers are also likely to be concerned about health problems, particularly the so-called “3D fatigue” caused by viewers’ eyes becoming tired. Manufacturers claim new technology has eliminated such problems.

Daily Mail, 11 Mar. 2010.

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