The opportunity

Balancing curiosity and caution in immersive worlds

As Meta prepared to open Horizon Worlds, an online virtual reality platform, to kids aged 10–12, they faced a design challenge: how to make immersive, multiplayer VR experiences that are fun, social, and age-appropriate. For an age group that’s starting to assert independence but still needs guidance, the stakes are high. Meta needed a new digital space—complete with parental oversight and smart safety features—that felt just right for the tween crowd. Having partnered with Smart on youth-centered projects before, Meta turned to us to help strike that balance.

Our process

Designing for the “nearly-there” teen

We didn’t just talk to kids and parents, we co-created with them. Our research spanned remote interviews and co-design sprints in New York City, Dublin, and London that were observed by youth safety experts. Activities ranged from avatar design worksheets to interactive voting walls and collaborative posters that captured real opinions and concerns. Kids and parents worked both independently and in groups, giving us a nuanced understanding of how they currently experience, and want to experience, virtual spaces.

Guardrails, not gates

Tweens are in that in-between phase; they are curious, creative, and ready to explore, but not quite ready for the full-on freedoms of teen life. They’re learning to self-regulate, and parents are still very much part of the journey. Our key takeaway? The best experiences give tweens enough freedom to grow, while keeping the right level of scaffolding in place. The goal isn’t to restrict, instead, it’s to responsibly guide.

We developed a strategic framework that maps the unique developmental needs of 10–12-year-olds to define guiding principles for their experience in virtual spaces. We identified how with the right tools for supervision and communication virtual social experiences can support skill-building, creativity, and positive habits. Our work helped Meta design features that empower families: parent-managed accounts, time limits, chat controls, and age-appropriate content filters.

From the “Co-designing immersive social
age-appropriate
experiences” report published by Trust, Transparency and Control Labs.

The impact

Setting a new standard for virtual youth experiences

The project laid the groundwork for a safer, smarter way for kids to engage in the metaverse. It influenced how Meta shaped their onboarding, content curation, and family management tools for younger users. Our framework and insights were featured in a Meta-published white paper, which is now an open-source resource being used by product teams to create safer VR experiences for tweens. Overall, it helped define what safe exploration looks like for preteens in a digital world and how platforms can support growth without overreach.

Thoughtful, co-designed tech teaches kids how to build good habits before they hit their teen years and helps keep families connected along the way. When we invite parents and kids to shape the virtual world together, everyone wins.