Post Author - TYDS MANZIL MEHTA
Technology has never failed to amaze us in one or the other forms. Before 1990s, nobody knew about the internet. Nobody imagined that within a few years it was going to revolutionize the way people communicate and do business. At the moment, we have a similar 'curiosity-sparking' technology coming up- THE METAVERSE. In this article, we will be having a look at what exactly the Metaverse is, and how is it going to revolutionize the way people communicate and connect with each other.
What is MetaVerse and who invented it?
The Metaverse comprises of 2 words- Meta and Universe. The word Meta in Greek means beyond/after and Universe means...Ugh, you know it already. So the word Metaverse means something which is beyond the universe. With Metaverse, Facebook is trying to create an all new virtual environment where people can meet and connect, even if they are sitting miles apart from each other. While Mark Zuckerberg has informed that it may take a few years for the Metaverse to be built for public use, we can expect a soft launch / testing phase of Metaverse in the next 5 years. Metaverse is expected to touch about 1 billion by the year 2031.
How does the Metaverse work?
We all know what Virtual Reality looks like. Many of us would have even played Virtual Reality games. It's all about a virtual reality headset which makes you feel like you're in the game and playing as the main character. This is the technology that Facebook is trying to bring in to Metaverse. Basically, Metaverse will provide all of us a virtual environment where we can connect with each other as if we are meeting in reality. You can choose/customize an avatar so that it looks very similar to you, and represents you in the Metaverse. Once you connect with your friends on the Metaverse, your avatar will make actions/movements just like you, and same goes for your friends. You will be able to see and hear your friends, and vise versa. So you can just consider it like an animated version of reality. Yes, this sounds amazing, and no doubt it is one of the best technologies that have come in the past few years.
Below image is a depiction of how the Metaverse would look like:
A very common example which I'm sure you will be able to relate to is online meetings/lectures. You very well know how boring it is to stick to a mobile/laptop screen for long hours and stay attentive in a meeting. Especially in the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies and educational sectors have switched to online mode. As a result, we have to stick to our devices for prolonged hours unwillingly. But this will change completely in the Metaverse. Even though we will be at our homes, we will have to make physical moves and actions as if we were physically present in the meeting.
The environment in which you will be interacting with your friends and colleagues will be 'initially' designed by the Metaverse developers. One such example of virtual world is the Horizon world built for the Metaverse. Once everything is well set, the developers are planning to set up an open market for everyone, where people can come and design their own virtual environments. You can think of it like designing a WordPress theme and uploading it online for other people to use it. In future, Metaverse is planning to build such VR glasses that have stereoscopic lights installed, which will be projected in your surrounding and they will simulate an exact similar virtual environment in your glasses that looks like your actual surrounding. I know, too much of technological advancements, right? But...
Is Metaverse really something that the humanity wants?
No doubt, Metaverse is one of the best technologies that the humanity came across, but is it really something that we need? I would like to explain my point with an example- Imagine its your birthday today. Your friends invite you to connect on the metaverse for celebrating your birthday. All of you connect in 'virtual' Metaverse world, cut a 'virtual' cake, have a 'virtual' celebration and then disconnect from the call. You take off your VR glasses and suddenly you come to a realization that you were all alone. Nobody was physically present with you. Just imagine, 20 years from now, this is going to be an everyday thing. You won't be meeting anyone physically for days and days. I can really see the depressed state of mind becoming a daily reality. No doubt, psychologists and consultants have a very bright future.
I was watching a few YouTube videos to understand what the Metaverse is and how does it really work. Unsurprisingly, I found a comment which said, "20 years from now, people will be searching for things like 'How to live in reality?' or 'How to have a real life?'". To me, it sounds funny and depressing at the same time.
In no ways I'm trying to speak against this new technology. Personally, I'm very keen when it comes to new technologies, and I am always happy to welcome such technological advancements. I just wanted to express my personal views on what our life may look like after the Metaverse would become a part of our daily routine. Thanks for reading!