Risks the Metaverse Poses for Children and Adolescents : An Exploratory Content Analysis

The technological concept of the metaverse has the potential to change our society to an extent that can be compared with past inventions like the internet. While it encompasses the potential to bring extraordinary advances in areas such as health care, education, or e-commerce the risks and challenges it might bring for its users are often neglected. Past experiences regarding social media or online gaming showed how such technologies can have negative effects on the psychological and physiological well-being of their users and to what degree malicious individuals might abuse them. A user segment that is especially vulnerable in this context is children and adolescents. This paper addresses the types of psychological and physiological risks the usage of the metaverse can pose for children and adolescents by creating a knowledge base derived from the current state of literature and interviews with experts. Additionally, it contributes to research by developing a framework that helps to identify and categorize child-inappropriate content or behavior that occurs in metaverse spaces. These findings may facilitate collaborations between researchers, policymakers, and developers of this technology to ensure the well-being of users and to create innovative solutions that mitigate the identified risks and challenges, fostering a secure digital environment that is safe for all user segments.