Connected Play in Virtual Worlds: Communication and Control Mechanisms in Virtual Worlds for Children and Adolescents

3. Results
3.1. Design Features for Communication and Controls
A comparative analysis of the 10 core platforms (Figure
2
) revealed that, depending
on the player age and genre of platforms (e.g., commercial vs. educational), design features
of VWs for children and adolescents have different levels of freedom and/or restrictions
for communication and control, and, accordingly, enable and/or disable different com-
municative and social opportunities during play. One influential factor that impacts the
design of communication and control features is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA) of 1998, a policy launched in 2000 to protect the privacy of players under 13
years old online. It has become a specific measure that guides communication, moderation,
and parent control features across many platforms [
67
–
69
]. Ed-tech platforms, including
platforms developed pre-COPPA (e.g.,
Whyville
and
JumpStart3D
) and post-COPPA (e.g.,

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Animal Jam
,
Poptropica
), have worked closely with entities such as Children’s Advertising
Review Council (CARU) and participated in FTC-approved COPPA-certified Safe Harbor
Seal programs [
70
]. Entertainment companies that primarily target players aged 13+ have,
nonetheless, also listed statements and/or developed compliance measures for COPPA to
ensure online safety and privacy. For example,
Roblox
and
Neopets
have utilized different
communication and parental control features (e.g., enabling chat messages and in-game
mails with friends only, for example) for players younger than 13 years old [
63
,
71
–
73
].
Additionally, many platforms operate on a free-to-play model, with different membership
options, price ranges, and pricing tiers to purchase virtual currencies, such as “Robux” in
Roblox
, “Minecoin” in
Minecraft
, and “Pearl” in
Whyville
. However, as illustrated in Figure
2
,
children younger than 13 years old were unable to purchase and redeem membership
and virtual currencies without parental consent across several platforms (e.g.,
Habbo Hotel
,
Animal Jam
,
Poptropica
).
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post-COPPA (e.g., 
Animal Jam
, 
Poptropica
), have worked closely with entities such as Chil-
dren’s Advertising Review Council (CARU) and participated in FTC-approved COPPA-
certified Safe Harbor Seal programs [70]. Entertainment companies that primarily target 
players aged 13+ have, nonetheless, also listed statements and/or developed compliance 
measures for COPPA to ensure online safety and privacy. For example, 
Roblox 
and 
Neopets 
have utilized different communication and parental control features (e.g., enabling chat 
messages and in-game mails with friends only, for example) for players younger than 13 
years old [63,71–73]. Additionally, many platforms operate on a free-to-play model, with 
different membership options, price ranges, and pricing tiers to purchase virtual curren-
cies, such as “Robux” in 
Roblox
, “Minecoin” in 
Minecraft
, and “Pearl” in 
Whyville
. How-
ever, as illustrated in Figure 2, children younger than 13 years old were unable to purchase 
and redeem membership and virtual currencies without parental consent across several 
platforms (e.g., 
Habbo Hotel
, 
Animal Jam
, 
Poptropica
).