Our family Christmas gift last year was an Oculus Quest 2, and I must say that for all my concerns about the so-called Metaverse we have had a great deal of fun with our first foray into VR.
Walkabout Mini Golf is delightful. Eleven Table Tennis and Thrill of the Fight provide surprisingly intense workouts.
We've spent some time on the International Space Station and swimming with Great White sharks off the coast of South Africa.
At some point we hope to visit some world-class museums we wouldn't otherwise be able to physically travel to. And soon we'll tour the Anne Frank House VR I downloaded when we first set this thing up.
For myself personally, I plan to reduce my fear of heights by exposure therapy in The Climb 2 - once I muster up the courage and manage to break away from ping-pong, that is.
When the gun stock arrives in a couple of weeks, I'll hit up Gun Club VR to get in some shooting practice.
With four older boys aged 10-14 - especially keen on playing every chance they get - we instituted turn timers so they don't overdo it. And of course their chores and schoolwork have to be done before they can play. And I keep the headset charging at my desk to manage who gets turns and when.
Besides that, our biggest concerns have been the course language of some players in the more popular multiplayer games. But even on that point, there are easy mitigations - muting individual offenders, for instance, or else playing single-player games.
In sum for now, then, it's still too early to say what the final result will be for both good and ill with our family's venture into Virtual Reality. All the same, our experience has been positive and the potential is definitely here to get in better physical shape and expose ourselves to some very creative, educational, and enriching experiences with this new technology.
