Meta Will Allow Preteen Children to Talk to Others in VR, With Approval

Children ages 10-12 will need parental approval for contact before they can use the Meta Quest headset to play or communicate with others. To receive approval, children must follow or be followed by a specific contact. Parents can remove contacts at any time. Meta reduced the recommendations of quests from the age of 13 to 10 in June 2023. At that time, the children were not allowed to participate in virtual reality. They could play games alone or immerse themselves in educational apps, but chat, calling, and shared experiences were simply not an option.

Meta has a financial incentive to expand access. In theory, this could get more kids into using Quest headsets and turn them into lifelong VR fans -- and it could also encourage developers to create more kid-friendly VR experiences. Not everyone is amenable to the loosening of restrictions: Critics worry that predators and cyberbullying could use VRChat and similar social platforms to target minors. The effects of VR on children's health are also unclear, and there are concerns it could harm the developing brains and eyes of young people.

However, if you're comfortable with the concept, it gives you a controlled method of introducing children to social VR. That, in turn, might help them develop etiquette and safety practices that could be useful if they use the technology as they get older.