Background: With the rapid development in recent years, virtual reality technology has been applied in many life scenes. Young people in China have also establish a basic cognition of virtual reality through these. However, the depth of cognition still varies between different people. In order to further analyze, this article conducted relevant research. Method: Based on the survey data obtained from the 2023 “Chinese Young People’s Awareness and Acceptance of Virtual Reality Technology”, this article collected information on the application patterns of virtual reality in various fields and negative feedback from Chinese young people on virtual reality technology. The article analyzed the sources of Chinese young people’s cognition of virtual reality and the reasons for the varying levels of cognitive depth. Result: Chinese young people’s understanding of virtual reality comes from virtual reality technology applied in fields such as entertainment, home furnishings, education, and healthcare. The reasons for uneven cognitive levels can be divided into internal and external factors. Internal factors include expensive and difficult to carry VR devices, difficult to find suitable scenes, and unsatisfactory promotional effects. On the other hand, external factors include the prevalence of other equipment in the same industry, low cost-effectiveness in development, and users’ persistent doubts.
