The annual Quest 2 is a fantastic device. But it is not intended for younger children.
Scott Stein / CNET
When asked for a great tech kid gift recommendation for about $ 300, I could think of few options. A iPad. A Nintendo switch. A Chromebook. Or maybe an RC car or a robot. For many of my friends this is Oculus Quest 2 is what shows up. And to be sure, I loved his games. There’s just one problem: it’s actually not intended for kids under 13. And I wouldn’t recommend it to them either.
Meta (Facebook) has further developed its VR headset into a unique game console. It’s an excellent product, and there is still nothing like it, especially at this price point. But if you’re shopping this holiday season, keep in mind that Quest 2 isn’t the kid-friendly system you might think it is (although if you’re getting something like most of my friends and family, you probably are).
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The Quest 2 is an amazing entry point to immersive experiences, and it can be a device that you share with your children under supervision when you are in the same room with them. But as a parent and someone who uses the Quest 2 regularly, I cannot recommend it as a kid’s device for several reasons. Zuckerberg doesn’t think the Quest 2 is suitable for children either. When I spoke to him about my concerns and questions earlier this year, regarding the possibility of a child-centered VR headset or software ecosystem, he said, “I think there is probably still a long way to go before we can really do this would build. “
There is only is nothing like the Quest 2, unfortunately. The age of VR glasses that work with phones is long gone. Nintendo did it VR kit for the switchif you can find it on sale anywhere, but it was more a toy than a tool. The PlayStation VR is still fun, but it’s full of cables and at this point I would wait until next year PSVR 2.
My reasons for distracting parents from Quest 2 as a gift for children are listed below. However, if you want to convince even more that Meta does not see the Quest as a device for children, check out this safety guidelines page.
The Quest 2 does not support child accounts or profiles
“As you know, to do this, sign in with your Facebook account. That way you can have all of your friends there and have the kind of social experience we want to build. But you can’t have a Facebook account if you’re under Are 13 years old, “Zuckerberg told me in May. That still applies to the Quest, although it looks like Meta won’t need a Facebook account in the future. However, it is assumed that the account you are signing in with is for someone aged 13 and over. The quest also lacks separate logins or profiles, so a child using a quest will be online under the Facebook account of the person who signed up.
With other game consoles it is fairly standard to have multiple player profiles and also child accounts that can be used to block certain online functions. The Quest 2 just doesn’t have these options. Which brings me to another topic …
You can keep an eye on what your child is watching and stream to it with the Oculus phone app. But there are no other settings for the child profile.
Scott Stein / CNET
Monitoring or disabling the chat and filtering content is difficult or impossible
Much of VR is a solo experience, but getting online in social apps and games can throw you into an odd mix of people, along with conversations that are often not censored at all. You can expect a lot of strangers at poker games, social hubs like Altspace VR, Rec Room or VRChat and esports like Echo VR. I keep the chat controls on my kids’ game console pretty much locked, but that’s just not possible with the Oculus Quest.
And let’s talk about the content: there are plenty of Oculus games that are full of gun violence or horror that are only suitable for adults. There is also a full-fledged web browser that also has no content filter settings. You can view literally anything (including VR and 360 video content, some of which is definitely for adults).
Safety (you might trip or hit something or someone)
VR is a high-motion situation where games require a lot of movement and hand movements. Setting up a boundary for your VR game called a Guardian happens when you turn on the headset. This boundary setup process detects when there are obstacles in the way and shows them to you in black and white using the Quest’s pass-through cameras. But after that there is no idea where obstacles might be. The Quest 2 doesn’t have collision detection or object avoidance like a car or robot, so you can accidentally hit someone in the room, break a lamp, trip over someone or something, or worse, hit your hand in a wall. I arrange my play areas very carefully with plenty of extra space near walls and stay away from others. Children probably won’t be that careful.
VR has not yet been tested for young children
Is VR even safe for younger children? We still don’t really know, and Facebook is poking around on the subject. However, Zuckerberg also points out that the Quest 2 headset is not weighted or optically aimed at smaller heads and eyes.
“The device is intended for people who have a specific IPD (Interpupillary Distance) range of how far their eyes are from each other [are]. And various things such as the weighting of the device, for example, are designed for people with a certain neck strength. So no little kids, but at least teenage and adult folks. Those are things that I think need to be overcome before even designing hardware that I think makes really good sense for younger kids to wear for long periods of time, “Zuckerberg said.
If I spend more than an hour in VR on a Quest 2, I feel strain and eye fatigue. And I’ve found that the headset doesn’t fit well on my kids’ heads: my 8 year old has to put the headset up a bit while looking at VR. I only let it be used for a few minutes at a time and was always supervised.
Watch out for possible skin reactions
There’s also a wildcard: Facebook has found that a small number of people have experienced something like an allergic skin reaction to the Quest 2’s foam face covers free covers online. Nobody in my family has had rashes or reactions, but VR games can make you sweat. I would recommend keeping some clean replacement foam faceplates and silicone covers just for general hygiene.
You could use it as a family though
I let my kids play VR occasionally and they see some amazing videos or simulations. I create a safe and empty area near me and while I let it use I stream the VR video to my phone with the Oculus app. That way, you can see what they’re seeing and make sure it’s appropriate. Unfortunately, there aren’t any good controls in the phone app to easily guide others through an experience, which means I still have to rely on their own gameplay judgment.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving a Quest 2 to a child under the age of 13 for their sole use. That didn’t stop a lot of people I know from doing exactly what many say Quest 2 was a lot of fun. That doesn’t change the fact that Facebook needs to build better parental controls and account controls and build better security measures into Quest 2 before I consider it a great kid’s gift. If you are ready to get one, just be ready to accept the above concerns and figure out how to resolve them in your household. You can totally disagree with me, but if you’re considering a Quest 2 as a Christmas present this year, keep that in mind.
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