Mark Zuckerberg and his company Meta is building a virtual universe which may seem fictional now but not in future; a whole new universe called the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a new universe that would be just another life you could live on your phones and computers. The uniqueness of this virtual universe is that you will be able to customize your life. What is Metaverse? An online 3D universe which would be beyond the real universe. One can have meetings, play games, work and socialize together with each other’s avatars. The avatar will replicate the actions you do and visualise. Let me share an example of how it works. First off, you buy a virtual reality headset (VR), an augmented reality headset and a smartphone or a computer. Then you create an account in metaverse, you set your avatar and with the Virtual reality headset and augmented reality headset your avatar will replicate your actions. If you wave, the avatar will do the same. Just imagine billions of people meeting each other’s avatars online which would feel like they were meeting in reality, Isn’t this awesome? Not only will you be able to play games in this new universe but also you will be able to interact with each other during concerts, gaming events and parties. Being able to customize our life is everyone’s dream and Metaverse is going to make it virtually possible. I believe that customizing one’s life can bring a massive change.
Let me share how I got interested in this topic. We have always talked about parallel universes but we had not even imagined that there’s one on coming on earth itself. After pondering upon this, I started researching and it became a topic I would study deeply. It had several theories and secrets which made me really interested in this topic. This universe has some extremely good advantages but some problems hiding in there.
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The Metaverse has a plethora of advantages like cost cutting for commercial purposes, time saver for busy people and an easily accessible world. In the Metaverse you can meet any person living in any corner of the world virtually. Now, you may think that video conferencing does the same so how would this be helpful? Stating an example of 2 friends who are meeting each other, If they meet on a video call, will they be able to take a walk together, will they be able to enjoy like they would have wanted to in real life? Whereas in the metaverse, they can attend concerts, take strolls for hours, listen to music sitting in their own private corner which would add the element of reality to their meetup. These were all the benefits and good points about the metaverse but as we know, every universe has a black hole. Let me introduce you the dystopian version of the metaverse.
In the metaverse, you can do whatever you want but when you take that headset off and take a look at the real world, you will realise that the world is the same. You feel that it is the same world. A world which is meant to bore you and add problems to your life. This will shoot up the rates of depression. To cure your depression, you will login back into the metaverse to live in the world you would have wanted to. Again, you pull that headset off and you realise the same thing. So, you will be stuck in a loop and metaverse will be like a drug which will give you a dopamine gush temporarily but addict you permanently. Apart from this your screen time will shoot up to such a greater extent which will lead to damage of your body. Indeed, the metaverse is the future and the future seems bright but the darkness is when you start getting addicted to it.
Now, one more question arises that how to not get addicted to it? I believe that addiction is a psychological issue and to prevent it you need to decide whether you control your mind or your mind gets controlled. Living consciously keeps you in check of the reality. To do so, ask your conscience is this the correct decision I am making or is it being made under influence of my mind?
Summing this up, I would like to state that this universe is one of its kind and you never know what’s in your way. My opinion is that using the Metaverse adequately can help the mankind but if used excessively this can create hell on earth. I think that Meta would colonise our consciousness and create a new world order. Now, let’s just wait for the future which could be Utopia or Dystopia.
I would like to leave you with a question: Is Metaverse a necessity or is it just for our dream? Do we really need it or is it our wish?
Ryan Shah
Std. 9