Enhanced reality will occupy a larger and larger portion of the tech market through 2025. Optimists see that market reaching $150 billion by 2020, while more cautious assessments put it at half that by 2025. Most agree that AR, with its practical applications in logistics, medicine, education and military uses, will take up to 80 percent of the market, leaving only the smaller portion to VR-based entertainment and consumer applications.
The social and personal adaptation to enhanced realities will be messy, replete with tragedies, lawsuits and political gestures. Because the effects on the brain of intensive or long-term VR exposure won’t be known for years, neuroscientists will recommend limited use for children and teens.