Written by Shawn 2022 Cohort
As evidenced by Facebook’s name change to Meta, many Internet companies are doing their best to explore the Metaverse. The term Metaverse was born in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, which depicted a vast world of virtual reality. With the development of digital media technology in recent years, the concept of the Metaverse has gradually become popular among the public. And also, the debate over its advantages and disadvantages has become a hot topic.
Many critics have looked into the Metaverse. Some argue that virtual reality will hurt the future development of humanity; for example, by making people addicted to virtual worlds, they will stop trying to explore outer space. Moreover, the unrestricted stimulation of the senses may make it difficult for people to distinguish the boundary between reality and virtual reality. Other views are that the technology is still immature, so the “metaverse” is only a commercial concept and is challenging to promote. Many speculators see this concept as a “hype gimmick” rather than advancing research in the field.
However, there are many who hold an optimistic view of the Metaverse. The unanticipated pandemic opened the era of remote work. Some companies are also experimenting with VR devices as productivity tools for panoramic online meetings. Not only that, but the goal of Metaverse is to allow people to connect online through virtual reality, which makes it possible to make more realistic calls over the Internet. The Metaverse can pull people in and create new business value. It is the ultimate form of digital media.
Although Blockchain, virtual currency and motion capture technologies are maturing, realizing an oasis like the one in “Top Gun” is still a long way off. We cannot predict how new technology will change society, just as the Internet and smartphones have. The development of technology will not stop. If the Metaverse is our inevitable future, we can only be curious and cautious about it, exploring how to balance its strengths and weaknesses. Do what we can to make technology serve society and make the world a better place.