“The ‘metaverse’ is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you,” says social media giant Facebook, which recently renamed itself Meta and somehow the buzz around the metaverse started.
This digital space is gradually becoming “a new reality” for today’s generation of children.
Kids these days prefer to have a birthday party in the metaverse where they can play games and hang out with their friends in virtual avatars. Instead of having a cozy little party in the living room with cakes and chips, the tilt has shifted towards virtual celebrations, thus becoming the new reality. Marriages have also been solemnized in metaverses!
While many see it as a better alternative to the physical world, many others, psychologists, especially see it as a problem.
What is the metaverse? Is it a new concept that you do not know?
If you ask someone about the metaverse, the most common answer would be “it’s related to online games”, “online virtual world”, “3D world”. In order to understand the concept behind the metaverse and the craze for it, we need to observe and understand everything that happens around us.
For many of us, it is a new and difficult concept to understand. Perhaps that is what is generating more curiosity about it.
“You’ll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create and more. It’s not necessarily about spending more time online, it’s about making the time you spend online more meaningful,” Facebook says about the metaverse. .
The word metaverse was first used in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopian and cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. It is an acronym for the words goal and universe.
Virtual reality is both a blessing and a curse for humanity. Virtual developers are trying to connect with all aspects of the real world of being human. Whether it’s human interaction, marketing, education, virtual reality is migrating to everything.
The Internet has made our lives easier. Today no one can think of staying out of the internet. From booking a taxi to getting suggestions on which movies you’d like to see more of, the Internet has interwoven human intelligence with human dependency and need.
The young generation is quick to grasp new things, and technology attracts them more.
A 2018 Pew Research Center research study says that “young people believe that social media helps teens become more civic-minded and exposes them to greater diversity, either through the people they interact with or the points of view with which they meet”. The study found that 81% of participants feel that social media connects them to what is going on in their friends’ lives, while around two-thirds say that these platforms make them feel like they have people who will support them in times of need. difficult.
It will not be wrong to say that humanity survived the global COVID pandemic without disrupting economic and social activities only thanks to the Internet.
An evolution in the Internet, expanding the scope of the virtual world, is definitely a blessing.
“Even if the Metaverse falls short of the fantastical visions captured by science fiction authors, it is likely to produce trillions in value as a new computing platform or content medium. But in its full vision, the Metaverse becomes the gateway to most digital experiences, a key component of all physical ones, and the next great job platform,” says Matthew Ball, Managing Partner of EpyllionCo.
Why are psychologists concerned about its impact on mental health?
“It was surreal. It was a nightmare,” says Nina Jane Patel, 43, recounting how she was verbally and sexually harassed on the virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds, created by Meta, or formerly known as Facebook in December 2021.
“Within 60 seconds of joining, I was verbally and sexually harassed, 3 or 4 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but they virtually gang-raped my avatar and took pictures, as I tried to escape, they yelled, ‘Don’t pretend don’t you loved it” and “go rub yourself in the photo,” he wrote of the horrific incident on Medium. “Virtual reality is essentially designed so that the mind and body cannot tell virtual/digital experiences from real ones,” he says. .
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Psychologists consider the metaverse to be worse than social networks.
“Today’s social media platforms are already dangerous for some kids and teens. The level of immersion in virtual reality could make those problems even worse,” Albert “Skip” Rizzo, psychologist who serves as director of virtual reality doctor at the Institute of Creative Technologies of the USC. , he told CNBC.
In September 2021, a Wall Street Journal report cited Facebook studies from the last three years and revealed how Instagram affects its young user base. The study said that 32% of teenage girls had revealed that Instagram made them feel worse about their body image. According to reports, more than 40% of Instagram users are under the age of 22.
Virtual avatars in metaverses can be modified based on the likeness of the individual and psychologists say this is a serious concern and can lead to body image concerns among teenagers. “The use of 3D digital avatars in the metaverse also brings with it another problem: being able to alter your image to project a version of yourself that differs from real life can be “quite dangerous for teenagers, in particular,” says Mitch Prinstein, Chief Scientific Officer, American Psychological Association.
Psychologists say that the idea of having a virtual fictitious identity can alter a person’s identity and there may be situations where a person finds it difficult to accept their real identity and individuality.
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