As immersive technologies become increasingly accessible to young audiences, developers and creators face an urgent question: How can VR experiences support children’s well-being—not just capture their attention?
Immerse, Play, Thrive explores how virtual and mixed reality experiences can be intentionally designed to help tweens and teens thrive and offers a framework for building immersive experiences that are engaging, developmentally appropriate, and emotionally supportive.
Authored by Senior Fellow Elizabeth Rood, this publication draws on co-design sessions with young people and parents, emerging research on youth well-being and digital play, and insights from immersive media and focuses on three “North Stars” for designing immersive experiences that support positive youth development:
- Emotions: Multi-sensory experiences allow youth to experience, recognize, and regulate a range of emotions
- Relationships: Immersion facilitates social connection to known friends and family
- Autonomy: Youth choose amongst safe immersive play pathways and experience feelings of agency, choice, and freedom while playing
The guide features a foreword by Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, as well as practical design recommendations for developers and content creators.
Immerse, Play, Thrive is part of a two-part series exploring the future of immersive media for children and adolescents funded by Meta. Together, the guides examine how developers can create VR and mixed reality experiences that prioritize safety, creativity, well-being, and positive youth development. Read Potential Power: Developing quality immersive content for tweens and teens here.
