Metaverse risks and harms among US youth: Experiences, gender differences, and prevention and response measures

Abstract

Research indicates that participation in metaverse environments and with virtual reality (VR) is increasing among younger populations, and that youth may be the primary drivers of widespread adoption of these technologies. This will more readily happen if their experiences are safe, secure, and positive. We analyze data from a nationally representative sample of 5005, 13- to 17-year-olds in the United States to measure their experiences of 12 specific harms on VR platforms, and which protective strategies they employed to prevent or respond to them. Girls were more likely to be sexually harassed and to experience grooming/predatory behavior, and were more likely to have been targeted specifically because of their gender. Finally, girls were more likely to engage in some specific protective measures online, but overall both boys and girls use platform safety mechanisms infrequently. We discuss enhancements in policy, content moderation, and feature sets that can serve to better safeguard youth in the metaverse.