The Metaverse is an iteration of the Internet that brings us more immersive experiences. Users will be able to use avatars to access the Internet, or the Internet can come to you in an augmented reality experience.
Today, you can already see various examples of developments towards the metaverse. If you Google “dinosaur,” you’ll see an augmented reality version of your favorite ancient creature in the room. You can also watch immersive concerts at Fortnight, or dive into the world of avatar-based dating.
In this post, I will share the potential positive and negative effects of the metaverse on society. Let’s take a deeper look at how this innovative technology will change our world for the better, and some of the concerns and challenges we need to consider.
We already have virtual reality games, big projects like Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, and Doom. ABBA Voyage is a virtual concert experience that will feature a digital version of one of the biggest pop hits in the world, and DJs Marshmello and Trevor Scott are already hosting virtual concerts on the Fortnite platform.
We will continue to see a transformation in the way people watch sports and listen to music. In the future, we might even be able to put on VR glasses and let us be there, whether on a football pitch or on the big stage.
Metaverse Shopping
The Metaverse is already changing the way we shop. IKEA’s Place app is leading the way, using augmented reality to place furniture in our rooms so we can see what things look like in our home or office space.
Companies like L’Oreal and Avon enable you to virtually try on makeup through their apps or websites, so you can pick the perfect shade.
Apple allows you to view their latest gadgets in your room using augmented reality, while Bolle not only lets you see what their sunglasses look like, they even use AR and AI to show you the world through different lenses what would it be like. Metaverse will continue to build and expand these types of immersive retail experiences.
Reform training and education
In the future, we will see the Metaverse offer immersive, engaging learning opportunities in many different contexts, including formal organizations and schools, lifelong learning, corporate training, and personal improvement.
Children can already attend classes by teleporting themselves to different places and at different times using immersive VR and AR technology. We’ve already seen this in Poland, where teachers are using the VR game Half-Life: Alyx to teach science classes. Companies like Skanska are also using virtual reality for their health and safety training.
Virtual Healthcare Helper
The Metaverse will provide new and innovative ways to take care of our health. Virtual reality counseling has emerged, and therapists are using VR goggles to provide exposure therapy to patients so they can experience situations that frighten them in a safe, controlled environment.
Surgeons are also using augmented reality to guide certain surgical procedures, and they use digital twins for surgical training.
At home, we have countless VR and AR health apps to use, and you can even do guided yoga using augmented reality!
Metaverse Tourism Technology
Hotels are already using VR as a marketing tool to attract new visitors by creating immersive experiences. As consumers, we can take VR tours around the world, such as Zion National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Rome or Dubai. In the Metaverse, we can go anywhere in the world just by putting on our helmets.
When we actually travel to a destination, we will also have the opportunity to take an augmented reality tour with a guide, which will enhance the travel experience and help understand the surroundings.
Create something new in the Metaverse
The metaverse will also change the way we create new things. Engineers, entrepreneurs and creators are already using digital twins, virtual replicas of objects, to simulate how things look in the real world.
Formula 1 is using digital twins to create new cars and try them out on virtual tracks. Nvidia now offers a full service where you can create a complete architecture of a building in a virtual world, then put on VR goggles and walk around that building at different times and under different circumstances. You can even see what the building looks like at sunset, or when it’s full of people.
These types of co-creation tools will become more common in the metaverse.
Metaverse Challenge
The metaverse also has drawbacks, and we need to consider these challenges as we move into a more immersive virtual world.
These include:
1. Privacy. The Metaverse will have the potential to collect vast amounts of personal data on each user, including eye tracking, body responses, and touch. How can we protect this data?
2. Protection of children. When children are immersed in the metaverse, how can we monitor what they do and see to keep them safe?
3. Health problems. VR hangovers, post-VR grief, and internet addiction are real, and how do we address the health challenges of an immersive world?
4. Inequality of access. How do we ensure that people have equal access to the technology they need to join the Metaverse, including phones, headsets, and connectivity?
5. Legal issues. We will need to sort out the grey issues of metaverse governance. For example, when is virtual behavior a crime?
6. Desensitization. As people move into increasingly realistic virtual worlds, how can we ensure they are not desensitized to violence, racism and misogyny?
7. Identity Hacking. We’ll all be using virtual doubles to navigate the metaverse, so protecting our identities will be critical. How do we verify that the user is who they say they are in the virtual world?
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings