The rise of VR and the metaverse could pose unique risks to children.

After decades of unfulfilled promises, VR may finally be on the precipice of "going mainstream."

Nearly $3 billion of virtual reality headsets were reportedly sold during COVID-19 lockdowns. Facebook put its Oculus Quest 2 on the market in October 2020 for $299, the same price as an Xbox Series S. Preorders for the Quest 2 were five times higher than the Quest 1 in 2019, and they sold out at most large retailers before Christmas.

Estimates swing wildly, with reports of anywhere from 26 million to 171 million VR users worldwide today. Even at the low end, it's obvious why, in June, Facebook Reality Labs announced that it had started testing ads in a multiplayer VR game.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview a month later that he was surprised by how consumers were using VR: to socialize. He'd planned on Quest 2 "mostly being used for games," he said, and had thought that "a lot of these social interactions ... wouldn't come until later." He continued, "There are even experiences that I really hadn't thought about," boxing, or dancing, for instance, "just hanging out socially."