Meta is taking steps to promote the use of its virtual and mixed reality glasses, regardless of the model. Mark Zuckerberg announced this month that the technology company is preparing a new generation of devices to be marketed starting in the fall: Meta Quest 3, a device with better performance and a very competitive price ($499.99), compared to other competitors. like the Apple Vision Pro ($3,499).
Now, he wants to lower the minimum age to be able to use his virtual and mixed reality glasses from 13 to 10 years old, according to El Mundo. The decision is not without controversy, because it is an issue that still divides the medical and scientific community and electronics manufacturers.
From Meta, they defend themselves: “There is a wide range of educational applications, games on our platform classified for children 10 years and older by both the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and the International Age Rating Coalition ( IARC)”, collects this medium.
Although 10-year-old users will be able to have an account and use the glasses, as long as they are supervised by their parents, the company will not change the minimum age to use Horizon Worlds, its virtual social network. In this case, it will still be 13 years.
Until now, Meta warned on its website that its virtual reality systems “are not toys and should not be used by children under 13 years of age.” “Although we are aware that minors under 13 years of age may want to use them, they are not allowed to create accounts or make use of them,” says the technology company.
Even if the child had reached 13 years of age, the technology company recommended that parents monitor the time their children spend using the glasses: “They should ensure that their children follow all safety warnings and that they rest during their use.”
There are several controversial points in this age reduction. The first, access to certain content, inappropriate for young people. The second, how these virtual and mixed reality glasses affect the health of children.
There is no consensus among the scientific community. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) explains on its website that staring at the screen of any technological device for an extended period of time can cause eyestrain or fatigue. But it did not appear to have a deleterious effect on eye health or posture, according to a 2020 study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
However, a study from the University of California (2014) with mice collected by El Mundo concluded that the region of the brain dedicated to spatial learning receives less stimuli during a session in a virtual environment than in a real one. Therefore, prolonged exposure could have a negative impact on the normal development of the user.
