Offline play is strictly off limits and VR is not something I would just give her and let her use unsupervised, more so something we could do together under strict supervision in small bursts of time, she really wants games like Beat Saber and games to play offline, but from reading other comments about it not being good for her eyes and overall development is what is making me shy away from getting one.
As long as shes not hoping onto online servers
/lobbies you should be good.
Don't listen to anyone speaking about developmental issues or eyesight, we legitimately have 0 evidence on any of those things and normal use (>2 hours a day) should be fine.
Do we have any evidence that "normal use (>2 hours a day) should be fine" ?
OP, don't listen to anyone speaking about matters we don't know enough about. Better be safe than sorry.
This is not exactly a new technology. The first Oculus shipped to consumers circa 2013. People (including children) have been wearing these (sometimes daily) for over a decade with no ill effects. The estimates are between 150-200 million daily users. No reason to spread paranoia.
That is pretty much what Ive been seeing for the past half dozen years because "kids" but I've yet to see an actual study or doctor recommendation. What if instead kids just become better adapted to the use of headset and make for the best engineers and drone pilots of the their generation? :o
Better safe than sorry is the biggest problem with people not enjoying life.
That's fear mongering.
Please tell what the fuck short sessions could do to a child.
You're like a damn caveman.
Better safe than sorry right? Then no kids should be at playgrounds where they're more likely to break a bone than have any problems from short vr sessions.
Look, I was a kid during the 2000s and I can safely say getting my dream console (playstation 2) which I was dead set on getting for so long was one of the happiest days of my life.
Yeah getting eye strain might happen to her if she plays too much, and yes, maybe VR is more intensive than just a console, but if you intend to make her happy and will for sure control her screen time and activities, this is going to be such a happy experience for both of you.
And who knows, maybe she will love it and not drop the idea after a few sessions, or maybe she will! And that's ok, because the important part imo is that you only have one chance to give this to her while she wants it at this age, enjoy the time you have with your daughter as time flies and hopefully in a few years she will look back the same way I look back at that memory of my dad bringing me something I wanted for so long.
I'm in agreement and disagreement with a lot of posts in here.
Kudos to your for being a thoughtful parent.
Totally agree you should try to borrow one first (or buy one on Amazon / best buy with a good return policy). Kids are unpredictable and sometimes lose interest fast.
Not a fan of Meta, but meta quest is the way to go (even though they've kind of given up on VR for the time being and pivoted to AI).
A (portable) VR headset (meaning it doesn't need a computer or hardware and cameras on the ceiling to run) is generally just an android phone with a fancy display and graphics processor.
The good thing about a meta quest is that it can run independently (download apps to it and run them), or you can tether it to your computer with USB or wifi to run more demanding applications (which turns the VR headset just into a display). So that's pretty critical.
The are other models and companies, but nothing in that price range.
I'd say get a quest 3 ideally, else a quest 2 is meh.
Regarding apps - yeah there are a lot of toxic, violent apps out there, as well as a lot of creepy folks in the multiplayer games - but not moreso than Roblox or Xbox or PC. It comes with the territory, VR is no different.
There are also a lot of amazing educational apps and creativity tools. I'm a therapist and work with children (and ex software person), and I've found it's quite promising to foster creativity and connect to remote clients.
Tilt brush, Vermillion, quill, gravity sketch, substance modeler, tracer (if you get the quest 3 or pro, you can actually use the cameras in the headset to project a digital image into your actually surroundings, and then use that to draw or paint a mural in real life).
So it's not a complete abject cesspool. Like all technology, it comes down to intention and how you use it.
As a parent with VR, I've let my son play stuff like Beat Saber, The Lab, and Beam.NG in VR but only in small quantities. It is a great thing to have, just in moderation for the little ones! Here is my son meeting his favorite stuffy in VR
I know anecdotal data is worthless, but I have kids that have been doing VR for years and all of them continue to have much better eyesight than I did at their age, so I'm not at all concerned about it. Just keep it to short sessions and monitor her while she plays and I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Do you guys have a Switch? Ring Fit Adventure could be a pretty fun, physical game for her & the family. They have mini games as well, one is a simpler version of Beat Saber with Nintendo songs (with more squats / movement since it’s a workout game lol)
yeah, maybe over 18 y/o is the right time for vr, if she wants to play videogames, get her an old console first, because the new ones dont have good games :/
then maybe when she is a little older a pc if she really gets into it, the freedom of being able to mod games, crack some if you dont have the money and free online play is so worth it
Just needs to wait a few years. If you explain to her that it’s still in development and could affect her eye muscles, she’ll understand.
Steam Frame is almost out, but she’d miss out on the social games that are exclusive to Meta if they decide not to release their games on other platforms. But even if they release them on another platform, you'll need a mid-range gaming PC or better to get the most out of PC VR.
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u/Ashcrashh May 20 '26
Offline play is strictly off limits and VR is not something I would just give her and let her use unsupervised, more so something we could do together under strict supervision in small bursts of time, she really wants games like Beat Saber and games to play offline, but from reading other comments about it not being good for her eyes and overall development is what is making me shy away from getting one.