Why the Metaverse Is Still Messy

 

Metaverse, the term itself gives some signs that it’s a different universe. It will have different ways of interacting with the people in the Metaverse. We can easily connect with people around the world and interact with them. We were using some tools which enabled us to experience Virtual reality but that was just a small part of the VR technology. On the other hand, the metaverse is a whole universe of Virtual reality, the only thing which connects the metaverse to our universe is the people who use the metaverse. Metaverse also has its own economy which is enabled by digital currencies and Nonfungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs are also being used to sell arts and various kinds of things which we will discuss later in the blog.

Few people get confused between Web3 and Metaverse, but this is not the case here. These two are totally different concepts. In simple words, meta verse is finding new ways to adapt digital currencies and people can make good money using this technology. Recently someone made an NFT of Amitabh Bachchan and it was sold for Rs 7.18 crores ($66,900).

Instead of all these, there are a lot of other aspects of Metaverse, which makes it messy for users. Let’s talk about it in detail.

Problems with Metaverse

There are already concerns that the metaverse’s architects aren’t paying enough attention to the very real problem of online harassment.

In December 2021, a beta tester for Meta’s VR social platform, Horizon Worlds, reported being virtually groped on the platform.

According to Technology Review, Meta’s investigation of the incident concluded that the tester should have used the “Safe Zone” tool, which activates a protective bubble around a user to prevent unwanted interactions.

If a user activates this tool, then not a single fellow user of his or her can contact him. This was not the first time when Metaverse testing went wrong. There’s a list of such events.

Increased Pressure and Social Comparison

Just be frank about how we use social media these days and how it works. A person who is addicted to social media shares everything on the platform.

And that has caused a lot of problems that we can see all over the internet.

Of course, Metaverse will just make things worse.

A person using Metaverse will be able to arrange the world as they see fit, preferring to live in the vibrant Metaverse world rather than the real one, and feeling inferior whenever they leave Metaverse.

He wouldn’t want to go back to the Metaverse as a result, and his social and personal lives would suffer greatly.

Potential Risk for Addiction

The reason why people are becoming more and more addicted to the Internet is that businesses have built their algorithms in such a manner that consumers will return frequently and spend more time on it.

A social platform such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter will make more money from displaying people’s adverts if they stay on the platform longer.

It is straightforward to infer that Metaverse will use the same business strategy.

With some consideration, we can predict the impact that this tactic will have on a user through the Metaverse. You’ll feel quite faint in the actual world compared to a virtual environment where you may do whatever you want.

Cyberbullying Becomes Worse

With Metaverse, people find their social media space or action taken on their posts or their avatar more authentic or real.

When utilizing it, a Metaverse user is totally submerged in it. In this instance, it becomes much more distressing when a user is a target of cyberbullying.

Because with metaverse we can touch or feel the body of our fellow user, it can be used both ways for good and for bad too.

There are no governmental or societal initiatives that may be taken to end cyberbullying harassment.

In this instance, a Metaverse user may get emotionally distraught if he experiences cyberbullying.

Other Aspects of Metaverse Becoming Messy

The idea that virtual, 3D environments that are accessible and interactive in real-time would become the transforming medium for human engagement is central to the concept of the metaverse and should be discussed to comprehend how safety issues could become more common in this digital future. These environments will need extended reality to be widely accepted to become useful.

Many people probably spend more time combining offline and online interactions, advancing toward a mixed reality, even if it is not a fully immersive life (MR). Breach of security and privacy can put the safety of interactions and users at risk. For instance, someone could pose as a doctor to acquire access to surgical theatre technology for operations that are carried out virtually.

Some of the current “virtual world”-creating programs, including those on numerous gaming platforms, give you a decent idea of the possible problems. It has already become clear that these situations entail considerable safety problems. For instance, despite major attempts on the part of the firm to stop the flow of such information, recreations of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque shooting directed at very young children have been discovered numerous times on the Roblox platform. Other harms in such virtual worlds exist in addition to the violent extremist and terrorist content. An employee recently played Rec Room on Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR Headset and encountered a racial rant that lasted for many minutes; however, they were unable to identify or report the individual. For a variety of reasons, groping has also become an issue in the metaverse.

Conclusion

So, now we know there are a lot of ways that make metaverse useful, but there are also some aspects that make it a nightmare. One of them is having a currency or independent economy. Until now, our governments are keeping eye on the money flow or they keep an account of what amount of money is being circulated in our country. But in the metaverse, it will be difficult to understand.