• vithigar@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      Is that a step further though? I feel like not giving kids access to VR Chat comes way before not giving them a smartphone in terms of restrictiveness or severity. It’s a far more reasonable suggestion.

      • Blaster M@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        2 months ago

        Both… but a Quest is mainly designed for gaming, where a smartphone is designed to do everything. The smartphone restrictikn is an easy one to recommend.

        • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          I don’t follow. Wouldn’t a limited-purpose device be easier to restrict than a general-purpose device?

          Look at the Nintendo Switch. If there was ever an Internet-connected device to give your kids, it’s a Switch. I have never heard of anything untoward happening to a child on Nintendo’s online platform.

          • Blaster M@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            2 months ago

            A Quest is an overpowered smartphone strapped to your face, with all the capabilities of such. You can restrict a smartphone too, but how many parents actually have that level of technical inclination? It’s better to limit the youngest minds’ times on these devices until they’re a bit older, and you’ve had more time to teach them important life skills. Also, parents teach your kids important life skills from an early age, please.

            • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              2 months ago

              I think we actually agree, maybe just a misunderstanding.

              I don’t believe that parental controls actually stop most kids from doing things they shouldn’t, and I think these devices are bad for a growing mind compared to real world human experiences.

              I think I misunderstood you earlier thinking you said that smartphones were easier to agree to giving children over a VR headset, because a VR headset is only for gaming. I think we both agree that they are bad.

    • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      The first (and only) time I played VRChat, my takeaway was, “What kind of adult would want to play a game with this many preteens in every room?”

      Then I answered my own question…

        • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          That’s not my point. Kids congregate in public worlds, and predatory adults know where to find them.