Why the children of the metaverse need a safe space
Generation Alpha is growing up with - and benefiting from - the metaverse as part of their daily lives. But, says Lucy McMullin, Strategy Director at EssenceMediacom, with these benefits also comes risk.
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As we enter the age of the metaverse, a new generation of digital natives is emerging; Generation Alpha, born after 2010.
These children are growing up in a world where virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality are becoming increasingly integrated into their daily lives. Gaming now outranks live TV and streaming as Gen Alpha’s top entertainment channel.
In this new world of engagement and fun, a number of concerns and challenges arise that have to be addressed.
Their favourite games are virtual worlds such as Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite. These games provide immersive experiences that allow Gen Alpha to explore and interact with virtual environments and other players. They also offer a sense of community, essential for a generation growing up in a world where social media and online communication are the norm.
But, in this new world of engagement and fun, a number of concerns and challenges arise that have to be addressed. These new digital worlds can expose children to a variety of threats, from online harassment and exposure to harmful content, to the unethical use of their digital data. In fact, 48% of eight-to-11-year-olds have been bullied in gaming environments against a backdrop of increasing welfare issues and there were over 200K referrals for children accessing NHS Mental Health services during the pandemic.
Above: Gaming now outranks live TV and streaming and games like Roblox provide immersive experiences that allow Gen Alpha to explore and interact with virtual environments.
Brands are in a unique position to turn the tide here. Creators of metaverse experiences within existing platforms, like Decentraland and Sandbox, have an opportunity to develop environments that embed safety into everything. In order to capture the attention of this key audience, brands will need to incorporate play into their investments. But, to maintain it, they must work hard to ensure this doesn’t become foul play.
Play, learn, consume
Games have become ‘third spaces’ – virtual playgrounds for kids to hang out, role play and socialise in, blurring the lines between online and offline in ways that traditional social networks like Facebook, do not. These ‘virtual playgrounds’ mean that today’s kids are experiencing a world in which virtual and reality are interchangeable, from the moment they can read and use devices.
Brands will need to incorporate play into their investments. But, to maintain it, they must work hard to ensure this doesn’t become foul play.
As a result, they will grow up with a completely different set of experiences and expectations than any previous generation. They are used to instant gratification, unlimited access to information and a world where everything is available at their fingertips.
Virtual and augmented reality also teach them to learn and interact in new ways. Whether it’s learning about Black History in Minecraft or using AR to learn how to brush their teeth, technology is set to shape their experiences, attitudes and expectations of the world in ways never seen before.
And this falls within worlds that give users creative control. Platforms like Roblox not only allow users to play games but give them a chance to create games too, using a simple block-based coding language, allowing them to design and build their own virtual worlds.
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Above: Creators of metaverse experiences like Decentraland have an opportunity to develop environments that embed safety into everything.
Safety first
For brands, these behaviours can actually give them a head start in shifting the dial towards safer, ethical and privacy-centric virtual environments.
Google capitalised on Gen Alpha’s use of the metaverse as a tool for learning to create Interland, an online game that teaches kids about internet safety and digital citizenship. Developed in collaboration with online safety bodies such as ConnectSafely, the Internet Keep Safe Coalition and the Family Online Safety Institute, this immersive experience involves four lands in which players come up against phishers, hackers, bullies, and over-sharers. It is a world where young gamers can understand the fundamental basics of positive digital behaviours and learn the skills to be safer and kinder online.
For brands, these behaviours can actually give them a head start in shifting the dial towards safer, ethical and privacy-centric virtual environments.
Similarly, Samsung collaborated with Fortnite to create an Anti-Bullying Skin for Galaxy owners on the platform to highlight the toxicity of cyberbullying. Skins are graphic assets designed to change the appearance of the game character and can cost up to $50.
The lack of skin makes it easy for bullies to identify and target players who perhaps can’t afford to spend money on additional in-game assets. Tapping into moments of play, Samsung designed the new skins, which are unique in the fact that they can be donated to other players, to give the gaming community a way to address the issue and help users who might be treated poorly by others because they can’t acquire the skins themselves.
Above: Google created Interland, an online game that teaches kids about internet safety and digital citizenship.
Learning from the past
Like their Web2 predecessors, metaverse platforms need to address the possibility that toxicity can thrive in these spaces and ensure they solve these problems before they even arise. It’s important that we learn from the mistakes of the past, and build safer digital ecosystems for the future.
Only weeks ago, TikTok was fined £12.7m for the misuse of children’s data. This reveals a systematic problem with the Web2 giants, who scaled without building the structures necessary to maintain safety. And, with most giants culling their ethics departments, the worry is that we aren’t learning from these mistakes.
[TikTok's fine] reveals a systematic problem with the Web2 giants, who scaled without building the structures necessary to maintain safety.
Play and safety are intertwined, and both need the correct investment to create positive metaverse experiences. It requires opening up the building process to diverse voices to ensure greater representation, creating platform-specific safety tools and working with governments and organisations to develop frameworks that keep everyone accountable.
When 72% of parents are worried about their children’s privacy in the metaverse and 66% are concerned about their safety, we need 100% of those leading the charge to lay the foundations that enable worlds of play to thrive.
