Internet
Will the Metaverse Hijack our Kids?
The Metaverse will be designed to be more immersive, more time consuming and more addictive than anything that has come before
The next generation of the internet, the Metaverse, will be a total immersion experience that will be even more compelling and addicting than what we experience now. In the marketing world, addiction is a good thing. It means customer retention. It means all advertising can be focused on the new customers because once a new customer tries it, they're hooked — it worked for the tobacco industry.
Addiction is not a concern to gaming companies; it is a selling point—the more addictive the game, the better the customer experience.
The games here are addictive beyond reason, making users yearn for one more click, one more turn, or one more virtual life. No matter what time it is, no matter where we’re supposed to be or what we’re supposed to be doing, these games can keep us in our chairs for days at a time, locked away with our screens and controllers just tripping the hours away. Addiction in a game form awaits your download. — PBS
Today's video games are already addicting, but with the advent of the Metaverse, they will be much more so. Once a user dons a virtual reality headset and steps into the action, the user becomes part of the virtual reality world and leaves the real world behind.
Remember, in the world of gaming, addiction isn't a warning — it's a selling point. Their goal is to capture the user's attention so that the person using such technology always wants more of the experience and longs to spend more time in the virtual environment.
It's challenging to know what our children are doing 24/7, especially when we believe they are safely tucked away at home. But the internet is not a safe place to abandon your children. When you consider the average 11 to 14-year-old spends nine hours per day in front of a screen, that's over one-third of their day sitting in a chair in front of a screen.
Now take an honest look at how much time your children and grandchildren spend in front of various screens at present. Is that the life you desire for your children? An enhanced internet, the Metaverse, will demand even more of their time — time that could be spent on active, positive pursuits— riding bikes, playing outside, engaging in sports, interacting in the real world with friends who are in the same room.
The Average Amount of Screen Time Today
It's a little scary when we count up the hours our kids end up sitting in front of a screen each day. Draw some comparisons to your childhood. Where did you stand on a scale from passive to active? Beware when your children make excuses to avoid "other" activities because they rather play their game. The United States CDC shows some concerning data:
- Ages eight to 10 spend an average of six hours per day in front of a screen, kids.
- Ages 11 to 14 spend an average of nine hours per day in front of a screen, and youth.
- Ages 15 to 18 spend an average of seven-and-a-half hours per day in front of a screen — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not all Technological Advances are Beneficial
Technology advances rapidly, but is every advancement good for society?
Virtual reality is a good example. Virtual reality could be used to explore our world, past, present, and future. As a teacher, I envision virtual reality field trips where my students could actually experience ancient times and lands — imagine sailing across the Atlantic with the early explorers.
Instead, virtual reality is marketed in the direction of escaping reality for pure entertainment — but is that really the best use? Unfortunately, in the corporate world where these decisions are made, "best use" is a secondary consideration to making the most profit.
Games that make a massive return on investment teach kids how to steal cars via Grand Theft Auto or slay dragons or kill bad guys in gaming formats. Rarely is the corporate focus turned to education because of the low-profit expectations.
But what if education was considered first? Instead of studying the Revolutionary War from the cold pages of a lifeless textbook, children could visit a real battlefield to see firsthand what the Revolutionary war was really like. Instead of reading about the pyramids of Egypt, students could walk around them and see them first hand.
In our market-based economy, decisions are not based on what is suitable for children or an education benefit but instead on how much profit can be made.
There is great educational potential, but in reality, technology is developed where business finds the most profit potential. Before the internet, a person seeking pornography had to venture into the seedy back corner of a liquor store to find a small selection of pornography magazines. Today pornography is readily available on any screen via the internet.
Data shows that thirty-four percent of all internet downloads are for pornography. Do we really need easy, free access to more pornography? Internet development and the upcoming Metaverse development will go in the direction where companies can make the most money.
The technological development of consumer applications will always follow the money, and the money is found where there is the most profit to be made. I do not expect to see virtual reality field trips anytime soon, but virtual reality games and virtual reality sex are right around the corner.
Imagine — virtual reality sex games! What an alluring combination for adolescents. The gaming industry has figured out the formula required to hook kids, and they are guaranteed to double down on their internet success with even more addictive gaming in the Metaverse.
The Effects of Too Much Gaming
Modern people have already come to believe that the world “out there” is somehow more interesting than the daily here-and-now.—Thomas Henricks Ph.D., Psychology Today
Is escape from reality the new goal? If a child is spending nine hours a day in front of a screen which world represents reality? Countless hours of screen time is also robbing our kids of other healthy pursuits. I grew up playing outside with friends, interacting with real people in real-time. I only came indoors when my parents gave me no other choice. A sedentary life in front of a computer also contributes to childhood obesity, which has reached epidemic proportions in the US.
There is a mental downside to too much screen time as well. Avoiding the present by spending time in front of screens, searching social media, gaming, chatting without personal interaction all are forms of addictive withdrawal from society.
There is a growing mountain of evidence suggesting that young boys and girls are exhibiting addictive behavior. Why? Largely because of extensive exposure to (unregulated) screen time. — Neurohealth
It's pretty clear that video games are addictive and that young boys and girls are exhibiting addictive behavior as a result. The release of the chemical dopamine is part of the body's natural reward system. The incremental attainment of dopamine levels within a game and the consistent flow of game rewards has been associated with dopamine release that further increases the pleasure and satisfaction of gaming:
Research on video games shows dopamine (present in reward processing and addiction) is released during gaming and that craving or urges for gaming produces brain changes that are similar to drug cravings. — Translational Psychiatry
Modern video games are action-packed, fast-paced with ever-changing screens and player points of view. Real-life does not measure up. School pales in comparison to blasting aliens and the instant gratification earned by simple goals like earning a token, racking up points, and passing level after unending level.
The classroom is not equipped to compete with the gaming world, let alone the Metaverse on the horizon. One teacher presenting information to thirty students in a quiet classroom setting is becoming a real bore to many students who spend many hours online.
Students have a hard time adjusting back and forth between the slow pace of real life at school and their fast-paced, action-packed virtual life at home. For example, studies show that viewing fast-paced, violent entertainment in the first few years of life is strongly associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by age seven. — PNAS
Limiting Your Children's Screen Time
Limiting gaming time may be a critical, essential step if you want your child to succeed in school. Let's face it, placing limits is not an easy thing to do because it takes 24/7 monitoring. As parents, we are cast into the role of gaming police.
When my children were young, well before video games, we felt television would be detrimental to success in school. I knew I would fail to monitor when and what our kids watched on TV. So we decided not to have a TV in our home until our kids reached high school.
If you believe your children might be spending too much time with video games, here are some indicators of gaming addiction. Also, consider the recommended limits for young children (below) and the possible long-term effects of too many hours devoted to video games.
Signs of Gaming Addiction
Signs of gaming addiction can be very subtle. Often it begins with a simple preference for game time over other activities. Once children get a hint of restrictions they begin to get a bit sneaky about it. They might readily change rooms at the suggestion of stopping play and persist in the activity out of sight.
Some signs to pay attention to:
- Preoccupation
- Withdrawal symptoms
- Increasing tolerance
- Failure to reduce or stop screen activities
- Loss of outside interests
- Continuation despite negative consequences
- Lying about the extent of use
- Use to escape adverse moods
Recommended Limits
“Prolonged use of watching TV, video games, scrolling through social media — all of that use acts like a digital drug for our brain.” — Kathryn Lorenz, MD, Premier Health
My wife and I have over 50 years of experience in teaching young children. Unrestricted television and video games make it more difficult for young children to learn to read and harder to concentrate on their homework. Our decision was no TV until high school. That worked for us, but everyone must decide what's best for their own families.
Video games represent a considerable distraction and investment in time. As parents, we must set boundaries to set aside time for development in all aspects of our children's lives. Pedagogically speaking, there is some advice:
- Up to 6 months old: no screen time
- 6 months to 2 years old: use screen time only for interactive social play with an adult or to video chat with loved ones
- 2 to 5 years old: no more than one hour of screen time
- School-aged kids: no set time limit, but parents should limit social media use and gaming
“We want to still encourage an hour a day at least of physical activity,” Dr. Lorenz says. She recommends face-to-face play with other kids, reading books, playing non-video games, playing with toys, and learning life skills, like cooking with parents — all without screens. — Kathryn Lorenz, MD, Premier
Long-term Effects
Gaming addiction is real. It's important to realize that there might be lasting long-term effects that will stay with your child for the rest of their lives. Limiting your child's time spent in these activities diminishes their long-term effect. In children, effects of screen addiction may include:
- Speech delay
- Cognitive impairment
- Difficulty with problem-solving and creative thinking
- Cyberbullying and exposure to predators
- Bodyweight issues and poor bone health due to lack of physical activity, which later in life can add up to heart disease and other health conditions
- Depression and anxiety
While technology is constantly advancing at a rapid pace, not all advances are suitable for children or society as a whole. Enterprise can always to counted to seek out the most profitable avenues for development, but those avenues may not be in the best interests of your children. As parents and grandparents, it's up to us to set up safe boundaries to protect our children and ensure their education. Setting strict limits on gaming and screen time, in general, will be a critical step in your child's development.
