The reality is changing
In October 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced their plans for the company and the technologies they are developing. One specific technology which had my attention was Metaverse, a 3D virtual reality rendition of the real world. At first, I was confused, then ecstatic, and now I am somewhat afraid. I took the liberty to watch Mark Zuckerberg’s event explaining the real-world applications of Metaverse. The introduction of the Metaverse concept to the general public brought in a lot of questions regarding the utility and the need for a 3D virtual reality world. When I think about the applications of Metaverse in my life as a consumer, not much comes to mind. In the event, Mark Zuckerberg said, “You can be anything you want.”When one looks at this statement from a particular perspective, it might feel like it is nothing more than an appeal to the desires and dreams of the generic public and an opportunity to fulfill them virtually. Still, this statement is highly detrimental if not deconstructed and understood carefully. To understand this statement, we first need to know where the potential of the Metaverse lies.
The Metaverse enables its users to access the 3D virtual world by creating an avatar; the users can create a house for their avatar and attend virtual events with their friends as parties, concerts, etc. Yes, I am talking about these events in the Metaverse. Users get complete control of their virtual reality. My concern is that people will use Metaverse to escape from reality. If someone isn’t confident talking to a girl in real life but can do so in the Metaverse, Where will you bet he will be spending most? Or someone who doesn’t have any friends and is an introvert but is able to interact with people on the Metaverse. Where will they be attending parties with friends? The more time a person spends in the Metaverse, the less time they spend living their own reality. Is Metaverse a tool that will be helping us shortly, or Is it just another medium for humans to dive into a new reality escaping from their existing ones. This might be my amygdala making me paranoid, but Metaverse and 3D virtual reality is a new technology, and I might be one of those mocking the internet in the 1990s. New technologies are intimidating at first, but this concept of a 3D virtual world baffles me. I would certainly enjoy my time with some real friends at a real party than in some virtual room wearing some goofy obnoxious headset.
Nick Bostrom, an Oxford philosopher, believes that there is a possibility of us living in a simulation. Now, this at first seems outlandish to hear. Still, all of this makes me believe that even if we are not some computer simulation on a computer for a post-humans amusement, these technologies might be a step towards creating one for ourselves. This might be too soon to judge the real-world applications and consumer experience of Metaverse, but we have to consider all possibilities.
