Ensuring Safety for Preteens in Meta’s Horizon Worlds

Meta has recently introduced a new feature allowing preteens, ages 10 to 12, to explore Horizon Worlds under parent-managed accounts. This comes with certain restrictions in place to ensure the safety of young users. Parents now have the ability to approve age-appropriate worlds for their preteens to engage in, such as The Space Station, The Aquarium, and the Spy School racing game.

Enhanced Safety Measures

In addition to the approval of specific worlds, Meta has implemented various safety measures to protect preteens while using Horizon Worlds. One notable addition is the introduction of a new rating system (10+, 13+, 18+), indicating the appropriate age group for each VR world. This allows parents to easily approve all 10+ rated worlds at once, ensuring that preteens are not exposed to content meant for older users.

Furthermore, Meta has disabled follower suggestions and set preteens’ status to “offline” by default, unless parents choose to enable visibility settings. The “Personal Boundary” setting is also permanently on, creating a protective bubble around avatars to prevent unwanted proximity.

Recent Updates and Concerns

The announcement of these safety measures follows Meta’s introduction of the ability for parents to approve contacts for their child’s VR experiences. Despite these efforts, some parents remain skeptical of Meta’s ability to protect their children, especially in light of recent controversies.

Earlier this year, Meta faced accusations of intentionally promoting its messaging platforms to underage users, despite being aware of inappropriate content exchanges. Additionally, lawsuits have been filed alleging that Meta designed its products to attract children, leading to negative impacts on their mental well-being.

While Meta has taken steps to enhance safety in Horizon Worlds for preteens, concerns remain about the company’s overall commitment to protecting young users on its platforms. It is crucial for parents to remain vigilant and actively monitor their children’s online activities, even with the implementation of new safety features.