Facebook owner wants preteens to step into virtual reality with its Quest headset

The corporate parent of Facebook and Instagram plans to open a digital gateway for kids as young as 10 years old to enter virtual reality through the Meta Quest headset, despite rising concerns about children spending too much time on social media. Meta Platforms, which oversees a social media empire created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, disclosed it will lower the minimum age for a Quest account from 13 years old to 10 years old in a Friday blog post. The move follows a call by the U.S. Surgeon General for tech companies to take steps to protect children from too much exposure to social media.