How the Oculus Puts Children at Risk

Virtual reality is becoming more and more popular, with companies like Apple releasing their own versions of VR. And as novel technological experiences become more accessible, it’s only a matter of time before our kids start asking for them. But what are the risks of VR?

Predators Target Children in Virtual Reality Chat Rooms

In March 2022, a Florida man used virtual reality (VR) technology to groom a 13-year-old girl from Utah. The two met using a VR platform on Oculus. After communicating for a month, the man convinced the girl to meet up with him in person. She was abducted from her town and taken 365 miles to Wyoming. Two days later, police found the child in the back of the semi-truck the man was driving. Evans was charged with kidnapping and harboring a runaway.

What is VRChat?

VRChat is a platform on Oculus that allows users to create an avatar and enter a virtual world. You can enter this online world through an Oculus Quest VR headset made and sold by Facebook. 

VRChat’s website advertises, “VRChat offers an endless collection of social VR experiences by giving the power of creation to its community.” Sounds cool, right? Connecting with people while being creative sounds like an adventure!  But while the platform appears benign, it poses a serious risk to the safety and well-being of children.

Is VRChat Dangerous for Kids?

Yes. Anyone with an Oculus and a Facebook account can download VRChat for free. The app recently added age restrictions but there are ways around them. Since children will likely link to their other social media accounts from this Facebook account, most will inadvertently or intentionally share personal details. 

Kids are not good at protecting personal information. The Pew Research Center found that most teens with online social media profiles reveal information about themselves to strangers. They lack the experience and cognitive development to intuitively see the potential danger of revealing identifying details.

VRChat—The Perfect Spot for Online Groomers

Within VRChat, users are encouraged to defy reality with their imaginations. Predators use this expectation to hide their true identity and sick intentions. This unregulated environment is the perfect place to prey upon a child. In the case of this young girl, we see a new way online predators can use technology to groom children.

Both offline and online, predators meet children where they play. Experts warn that we will likely see more VR predators as the technology becomes increasingly popular. 

Online sexual solicitation is on the rise as children spend more time online. These reports nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020 as COVID-19 precautions led to more kids being plugged in, increasing predators’ access to young victims

The Problem with VR

VR is becoming increasingly popular, especially among teens. Meta has invested at least ten billion dollars into creating a metaverse—a virtual reality world where users can create and share virtual spaces. Their VR game, Horizon Worlds, allows users who have never met to socialize, play, and work as avatars.

VR apps have come under fire lately for the lack of protection they give children. The ability to interact with strangers means that predators like Evans can use the platform to meet and groom children.

Earlier this year, one BBC researcher explored the dangers posed by VR by posing as a 13-year-old girl on VRChat. He was able to access a virtual strip club where he saw instances of sexual harassment, sex paraphernalia, and avatars engaging in e-sex.

What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids Online

While these developments should make parents cautious, we don’t have to be numbed with fear. We can still protect and empower our kids. Simply being involved in our children’s digital lives will make a huge difference.

Susan Kennedy, prevention program manager at The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said, “The best thing you can do to protect your children online is to be involved in their online life. Ask about what they are doing online and take a genuine interest.”

[Online predators] are able to take advantage of children when their activities are secret.

This happens often when children are not comfortable or even afraid to go to the adults in their lives when something is happening online, especially when they feel that they have done things they regret or know they shouldn’t have done.

—Susan Kennedy, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2021

Moving Forward

Talking to our children about their digital activity has to be done frequently. Educator Michelle Busch-Upwall of Utah’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force counsels, “It’s not one conversation. It’s continuing conversations and evolving conversations.”

It’s important to keep these conversations supportive rather than punitive. Kids are often hesitant to go to their parents about issues like online predators, so it’s vital they feel safe to do so.

Busch-Upwall emphasized that parents can also help their children by understanding the potential dangers of new technologies. She said, “We’ve got to make sure that we understand how [these technologies] work before we’re handing [them to] our kids.”

What did we miss? How does your family handle VR? What advice do you have for other parents? Let us know in the comments!