A Metaverse Guide for Parents

Since social media giant Facebook announced it would shift its focus to the “metaverse” and change its name to Meta, the metaverse has become a cultural buzzword. It’s also becoming a growing concern for parents: as children flock to virtual games and devices, many parents have scrambled to understand what the metaverse is, and what it might mean for their childrens’ futures.

In its simplest terms, the metaverse expands far beyond Facebook or virtual reality. It’s a platform of interconnected digital worlds where people interact through first-person avatars. 1

Becoming meta-literate is increasingly relevant for parents who want to protect their children and maintain control over what they see and do in the metaverse – a virtual platform founded on the principles of decentralization and lack of control.

You may be concerned about how your child interacts with others in the metaverse, as well as how the metaverse’s environments and users might impact your child. Apprehension surrounding the metaverse is understandable, but you can empower yourself and your children to explore this vast, new digital world safely.

Table of Contents:

What Is The Metaverse?

The term “metaverse” is a combination of the prefix “meta” (meaning beyond) and the word “universe”. However, one true definition of the metaverse is difficult to pin down and define – and that’s part of its nature.

In brief, the metaverse is a series of connected, shared digital worlds where users can interact with one another through digital avatars. Metaverse experiences must have two key components: they must be immersive and must be social. 2 In the metaverse, people can do many of the activities they do in the real world, like playing games together, shopping, working, and going to events.

How Kids Use the Metaverse

Kids access the metaverse with VR headsets, phones, computers, or non-immersive gaming devices (such as traditional gaming consoles). From a high-level perspective, kids are using the metaverse for gaming and socialization. In the metaverse, children can create digital worlds or custom avatars, and they may also use it to purchase products or services with virtual currency, cryptocurrency, or setting-specific currencies (such as Robux currency, in the case of Roblox).

Gaming

Some of the most popular games among children that provide a metaverse experience are Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. While many people might associate the metaverse with virtual reality, it’s not required to access the metaverse. Wildly popular games like Roblox, which can be played from a PC or smartphone, are part of the metaverse because the players participate in a customizable, shared digital environment and interact socially with one another.

Roblox currently has over 202 million monthly active users, and 56% of U.S. children play Roblox at least once a week. The game exploded in popularity during the first quarter of 2021, when many children were still at home due to Covid-19. 3 Virtual reality platforms, such as PlayStationVR, will also have a host of games for their users to play in the metaverse.