Meta is now going to allow young kids to make use of the firm’s VR headsets that are designed to be used in the metaverse.
The news comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said yes to allowing children that happen to be just ten years of age to use the product. And for those who are still wondering what the old age restriction happened to be, well, it stood at 13 in the past.
But on Friday, we saw that go down to just 10 and the firm was seen speaking about how it those in the 10 to 12 age bracket would only be allowed after attaining permission from parents and guardians.
As mentioned recently through a report by The Verge, such changes would take place by this year’s end and would be applicable for the Meta Quest 2 and even the Quest 3 variant that’s said to arrive by this fall. The latter would be priced at a whopping cost of $500, it adds.
But those who are in this 10 to 12 age group would require more permission to utilize them.
After gaining appropriate permission from preteens, the young users would be allowed to make accounts and that would give parents more control over such platforms in terms of what they’re installing from the App Store too, the company adds.
When they’re trying to set up an account, we’ll be seeing parents register with the user’s age, and in that manner, only those experiences that the firm feels is age appropriate would be allowed to go ahead for the child.
Moreover, parents would be controlling whether or not preteens can install or utilize the platform and even restrict access to any of the platforms at a certain moment in time.
Remember, other parental controls that would be given thought entails a time limit, disguising the active status, and also casting VR to either smartphones or television sets through default settings.
But why exactly is the CEO of Meta so keen on reducing the requirement of age and giving preteens the chance to come to the metaverse, despite all the criticism in the world against this decision.
Well, putting the age limit down may assist Mark Zuckerberg in maintaining the right kind of interest in VR headsets and the metaverse. And when the interest of others seems to be waning, this is where such decisions might come in handy.
On another note, we think it’s so interesting that plenty of kids that fall below the age limit are already registered on the platform through their parent's accounts. Hence, at least this way, the company is making sure less shady behavior ensues.
Meta claims that such headsets may give kids plenty of forms of entertainment and some great experiences, education-wise too. But such reports could rub American lawmakers in the wrong direction.
This past year, we were witness to so many American senators hailing from the Democratic party trying to stop plans and make the flagship VR platform Horizon Worlds up for grabs to teens.
While this might be a moment of celebration for Meta, critics are keeping a close eye on the move while others feel it might be a rushed decision that could do more harm than any good to younger audiences.
Hence, we’re just going to have to wait and watch what the end result turns out to be and how much of a difference is made by allowing preteens onboard. What do you think?
Read next: Big Tech Firms Know UK Citizens Prioritize Other Things Over Online Security And They’re Exploiting Them
The news comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said yes to allowing children that happen to be just ten years of age to use the product. And for those who are still wondering what the old age restriction happened to be, well, it stood at 13 in the past.
But on Friday, we saw that go down to just 10 and the firm was seen speaking about how it those in the 10 to 12 age bracket would only be allowed after attaining permission from parents and guardians.
As mentioned recently through a report by The Verge, such changes would take place by this year’s end and would be applicable for the Meta Quest 2 and even the Quest 3 variant that’s said to arrive by this fall. The latter would be priced at a whopping cost of $500, it adds.
But those who are in this 10 to 12 age group would require more permission to utilize them.
After gaining appropriate permission from preteens, the young users would be allowed to make accounts and that would give parents more control over such platforms in terms of what they’re installing from the App Store too, the company adds.
When they’re trying to set up an account, we’ll be seeing parents register with the user’s age, and in that manner, only those experiences that the firm feels is age appropriate would be allowed to go ahead for the child.
Moreover, parents would be controlling whether or not preteens can install or utilize the platform and even restrict access to any of the platforms at a certain moment in time.
Remember, other parental controls that would be given thought entails a time limit, disguising the active status, and also casting VR to either smartphones or television sets through default settings.
But why exactly is the CEO of Meta so keen on reducing the requirement of age and giving preteens the chance to come to the metaverse, despite all the criticism in the world against this decision.
Well, putting the age limit down may assist Mark Zuckerberg in maintaining the right kind of interest in VR headsets and the metaverse. And when the interest of others seems to be waning, this is where such decisions might come in handy.
On another note, we think it’s so interesting that plenty of kids that fall below the age limit are already registered on the platform through their parent's accounts. Hence, at least this way, the company is making sure less shady behavior ensues.
Meta claims that such headsets may give kids plenty of forms of entertainment and some great experiences, education-wise too. But such reports could rub American lawmakers in the wrong direction.
This past year, we were witness to so many American senators hailing from the Democratic party trying to stop plans and make the flagship VR platform Horizon Worlds up for grabs to teens.
While this might be a moment of celebration for Meta, critics are keeping a close eye on the move while others feel it might be a rushed decision that could do more harm than any good to younger audiences.
Hence, we’re just going to have to wait and watch what the end result turns out to be and how much of a difference is made by allowing preteens onboard. What do you think?
Read next: Big Tech Firms Know UK Citizens Prioritize Other Things Over Online Security And They’re Exploiting Them
