The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, where you can socialise, collaborate, learn, and play with others across different digital worlds. The metaverse may offer new opportunities for creativity, education, entertainment, and commerce, but there are also new challenges where metaverse technologies can have a significant impact on young users’ mental health and well-being. Children may become addicted to this technology and have difficulty separating their real lives from virtual ones. This addiction can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, negatively impacting real-world relationships. The new Draft Australian Standard AS 5402:2024 Children’s Safety in the Metaverse provides a practical framework for advancing children’s safety in the metaverse. It identifies industry measures, parental guidance practices, and educational initiatives tailored to children’s safety in the metaverse.
The metaverse will include familiar 2D experiences, such as web browsing and social media, as well as ones projected into the physical world, such as augmented reality, and fully immersive 3D ones, such as virtual reality. They can shape social perceptions and interactions, potentially influencing how individuals relate to the real world. The emotional impact of virtual experiences, whether educational or negative, can significantly affect mental health and self-esteem.
The Draft Standard is open for Public Comment until 24 January 2025. Public Comment ensures that the broader community has an opportunity to review the content and direction of the document prior to its completion. All comments from the public are considered in detail by the technical committee and, if necessary, further drafting is undertaken. View the full list of drafts currently available for public comment. Download the Public Comment Portal Help Guide.
As part to the CFA Standards Project, CFA supports a representative to Standards Australia committee MV-002 which developed the draft standard. The representative ensures the impact on consumers is always a central part of committee considerations, giving the Australian consumer greater confidence in the products, services, and systems they use. Find out more about consumers and standards and how you can get FREE limited access to Australian standards.
The above media release was written by Regina Godfredson, CFA’s Standards Co-ordinator. The closing date for public comments was edited on 2/12/2024 to reflect Standards Australia’s extension for the public comment period.