The World Economic Forum (WEF), one of the most influential international institutions, has expressed its worries about the safety of metaverse dwellers, especially younger ones. The group has raised a number of concerns regarding the anonymity and safety of young individuals in this upcoming alternate world, and has given a number of recommendations to preserve them.
World Economic Forum prioritizes child safety in Metaverse
Major forums and institutions around the world are thinking about the implications of living part of our lives in the metaverse. The World Economic Forum (WEF), an “international institution for public-private cooperation”, has expressed concern about the safety of young people in the metaverse. In a post for the forum’s Davos 2022 meeting, Mark Read, CEO of WPP, explains the growth of this industry and why building a safe metaverse is a priority.
The article conveys that while the metaverse is being promoted as an alternate world for everyone, due to its traits, gaming applications will be the ones garnering the most attention at first glance, which means that children will be the first exposed to these experiences. In this sense, it explains:
Kids are ahead of more games on more devices for longer – in part because of the pandemic. They witness a wide range of behavior (including abuse, if left unsupervised). And the monitoring itself becomes so much more difficult.
How to Make the Metaverse a Safe Space
The Institution also made some recommendations about how to achieve this safety for younger people in the future of the metaverse. According to a survey made by Wunderman Thompson, 72% of the parents that know what the metaverse is are worried about the privacy of their children therein, and 66% are also worried about their safety.
Given this, some companies have already started producing walled and protected metaverse experiences designed specifically for children. But in a multi-connected metaverse, this approach does not apply. The article notes that “we need to learn how to design better algorithms and business models, and how to intervene well.” He explains :
Anticipating new behaviors should surely be part of the mix. The metaverse enables immersive, 3D digital experiences and actions not seen before, but we are also seeing a new set of behaviors, some of them worrying, and many of which should not surprise us.
Companies are already creating metaverse experiences for children. In April, Epic Games announced a partnership with Lego to produce a common metaverse, allowing children to be entertained by building their own experiences. Epic Games owns Superawesome, a company that takes care of keeping these experiences safe for kids.
