Editing Virtual reality (section)

===Children and teenagers in virtual reality===
Children are becoming increasingly aware of VR, with the number in the USA having never heard of it dropping by half from Autumn 2016 (40%) to Spring 2017 (19%).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://digilitey.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CVR-Final-PDF-reduced-size.pdf|title=Children and Virtual Reality: Emerging Possibilities and Challenges|last1=Yamada-Rice|first1=Dylan|last2=Mushtaq|first2=Faisal|date=2017-09-12|website=digilitey.eu|language=en|access-date=2020-04-27|last3=Woodgate|first3=Adam|last4=Bosmans|first4=D.|last5=Douthwaite|first5=A.|last6=Douthwaite|first6=I.|last7=Harris|first7=W.|last8=Holt|first8=R.|last9=Kleeman|first9=D.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517073613/http://digilitey.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CVR-Final-PDF-reduced-size.pdf|archive-date=2018-05-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A 2022 research report by [[Piper Sandler]] revealed that only 26% of [[United States|U.S.]] teens own a VR device, 5% use it daily, while 48% of teen headset owners "seldom" use it. Of the teens who don't own a [[VR headset]], 9% plan to buy one. 50% of surveyed teens are unsure about the [[metaverse]] or don't have any interest, and don't have any plans to purchase a VR headset.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/teens-are-split-on-the-metaverse-most-barely-use-vr-headsets-survey-shows/#comment-jump|title=Teens are split on the metaverse, most barely use VR headsets, survey shows|magazine=[[PC Gamer]]|date= 14 April 2022}}</ref>

Studies show that young children, compared to adults, may respond cognitively and behaviorally to immersive VR in ways that differ from adults. VR places users directly into the media content, potentially making the experience very vivid and real for children. For example, children of 6–18 years of age reported higher levels of presence and "realness" of a virtual environment compared with adults 19–65 years of age.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-809481-5.00009-2 |chapter=Immersive Virtual Reality and the Developing Child |title=Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts |date=2017 |last1=Bailey |first1=Jakki O. |last2=Bailenson |first2=Jeremy N. |pages=181–200 |isbn=978-0-12-809481-5 }}</ref>

Studies on VR consumer behavior or its effect on children and a code of ethical conduct involving underage users are especially needed, given the availability of VR porn and violent content. Related research on violence in video games suggests that exposure to media violence may affect attitudes, behavior, and even self-concept. Self-concept is a key indicator of core attitudes and coping abilities, particularly in adolescents.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Funk |first1=Jeanne B. |last2=Buchman |first2=Debra D. |title=Playing Violent Video and Computer Games and Adolescent Self-Concept |journal=Journal of Communication |date=June 1996 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=19–32 |doi=10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01472.x }}</ref> Early studies conducted on observing versus participating in violent VR games suggest that physiological arousal and aggressive thoughts, but not hostile feelings, are higher for participants than for observers of the virtual reality game.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Calvert|first1=Sandra L.|last2=Tan|first2=Siu-Lan|date=January 1994|title=Impact of virtual reality on young adults' physiological arousal and aggressive thoughts: Interaction versus observation|journal=Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology|volume=15|issue=1|pages=125–139|doi=10.1016/0193-3973(94)90009-4 }}</ref>

Experiencing VR by children may further involve simultaneously holding the idea of the virtual world in mind while experiencing the physical world. Excessive usage of immersive technology that has very salient sensory features may compromise children's ability to maintain the rules of the physical world, particularly when wearing a VR headset that blocks out the location of objects in the physical world. Immersive VR can provide users with multisensory experiences that replicate reality or create scenarios that are impossible or dangerous in the physical world. Observations of 10 children experiencing VR for the first time suggested that 8-12-years-old kids were more confident to explore VR content when it was in a familiar situation, e.g. the children enjoyed playing in the kitchen context of [[Job Simulator]], and enjoyed breaking rules by engaging in activities they are not allowed to do in reality, such as setting things on fire.<ref name="auto"/>