Meta and the Future
of Virtual Reality
Metaverse 101
Imagine a virtual-reality platform that lets you socialize, learn, play, and even work remotely? According to Meta (formerly known as Facebook), this futuristic reality is just a few years away.
1. What is Meta?
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, announced on October 28th that his platform will undergo some massive changes, including its name. Now dubbed Meta, this new virtual reality promises to be the next chapter in the metaverse for the digital world. While Facebook’s social platforms (including Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook) are not changing their names or business models, this new and reshaped human communication proposition is here to change everything.
With Meta and its 150 million investment in R&D, daily activities like shopping, traveling, working, and playing will become much easier and integrated.
Afterall, what is the metaverse? In essence, an endless virtual universe which allows people to interact with others and accomplish daily tasks in a virtual reality through digital avatars. In this proposal, its users will be connected both socially and economically, just like an extension to everyday life. This technology is created by multiple channels, including cryptocurrencies, social media, and virtual reality.
2. How Virtual Reality Works
By combining a computer-generated environment with lifelike artificial senses such as touch, hearing, and sight, a 3-dimensional realistic or fantasy world comes to life. Despite being relatively new, virtual reality has been used for a variety of purposes.
To name a few, it is mostly used for gaming, entertainment, education, engineering, and even medicine. This is all made possible by technological tools and programs, such as virtual reality headsets, which immerse and enable virtual reality experiences, and VR controllers, which make cyberspace a tangible experience.
Businesses may also take advantage of this technology and use it to allow customers to virtually test their products or to increase their marketing efforts by creating more engaging ads. The tool can be used to improve meetings with remote workers and create engaging training methods for employees.
3. The Dark Side of Cyberspace
Though Virtual Reality is a powerful tool that has the potential to change the world, there are some disadvantages that should be taken into account as well:
- Costly: As the world moves towards a more digital reality, more and more audiences are taking advantage of VR as a technological experience. Despite this, not everyone is able to afford such technology, as it’s not yet affordable and accessible to everyone.
- Isolation: We have seen that a large amount of time spent on social media can lead to addiction. Especially with younger audiences, it is reported that the more time they spend online, the more they become disconnected from reality. Real-life friends are suddenly replaced by virtual friends, causing loneliness. With VR, this would be no different.
- Reality: Virtual reality is not capable of replacing reality, even if it provides an immersive virtual experience. As an example, most medical students studying in isolation had to practice and learn their skills through virtual programs when COVID-19 hit. However, virtual training cannot replace real-life training. Only a limited amount of the human experience can be replicated in cyberspace.
How do you feel about the rise of meta and V.R. in the near future, now that you know more about them? Do you think virtual reality is here to stay?