It is almost impossible for anyone constantly surfing the internet not to have heard of the term Metaverse. Even if you've not heard of the term metaverse, you must have seen, heard, or noticed that Facebook, the parent company that owns social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, have changed their name to Meta. What is meta, or for the sake of this post, what is Metaverse?
Metaverse is the recreation of our daily lives and how we interact with people or socialize using virtual and augmented reality, cyberspace where reality meets imagination. You might say that it already exists in games like Fortnite and Decentraland, but the Metaverse is much bigger than that (at least the idea of it).
Mark Zuckerberg, in Facebook, reveals as Meta, explained that with just putting on your headset or glasses, you can have your home, office virtually represented on the Metaverse, and we can socialize and have an almost natural feel or socialization with other people. All these can be done and more with each user having control over their privacy and who they interact with. Crazy!!!!
The Coronavirus pandemic that locked us down in 2020 and its cousin, the omicron variant, has brought about caution when interacting physically with people. This has made the idea of a world where we can socialize, hold meetings conferences, go to concerts, and have an almost tangible feeling about seems to be a welcoming idea. But the big question is, do we need an escape from the real world?
The Metaverse is more of an internet where we won't be looking at pictures and hearing sounds but be inside. Rather than watching or reading about news and live feeds, we will be experiencing those events ourselves through our digitally created avatar. The Metaverse offers a new way of socializing on the internet, from sights and sound to experience (feel).
What Critics Have To Say About The Metaverse
With big tech companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, Apple, and Microsoft all working to form their version of the Metaverse, some critics have questioned the safety, privacy, and legality surrounding this innovation.
Critics question how big techs will monitor and censor activities on the Metaverse since it is meant to be our virtual reality. For instance, how will big techs prevent sexual content on the Metaverse not finding its way to kids? Is there a way to prevent hate speech and racist comments on the Metaverse as an avatar can bump into anyone and have a conversation or make a comment.
Ensuring the safety of digital avatars is also an issue. On the Metaverse, touch and feelings are heightened to give a more realistic feel. What will be the psychological effect on kids and adults when they experience crime or are in danger in the Metaverse.
Conclusion
The Metaverse is an innovation that promises to improve the way we socialize and interact with people, more like a second reality but virtually. The Metaverse is more like being on the internet rather than surfing it. There are big questions asked about the safety and privacy of the Metaverse, but time will tell if it will solve meet up to its hype and if the issues presented by critics can be taken care of.