Since the dawn of the internet, humanity has worked tirelessly to distance itself from reality. With each new technological advancement comes a new way to immerse oneself in cyberspace, temporarily freeing oneself from corporeal bonds. According to Darren Yaw, the line between real life and the virtual world appears to be blurring every day as the metaverse looms on the horizon of existence.
According to Darren Yaw, the line between real life and the virtual world appears to be blurring every day as the metaverse looms on the horizon of existence.
The metaverse is the pinnacle of virtual reality. It’s similar to, but far beyond, any of the Black Mirror series. It’s in the name, where “meta” means “beyond”, and “verse” is short for “universe”.
According to Darren Yaw, industry giants like Facebook and Epic Games (Fortnite) see the metaverse as a virtual replica of reality. Whatever exists in our reality will find its way to the alternative – almost as if it were a parallel universe.
In comparison to what corporations have in mind, the metaverse concept is still in its infancy. According to Darren Yaw, there are numerous implications to its realisation, some of which would affect the lives of those who choose not to participate.
Does the metaverse appear to be a good idea? Let’s delve deeper into this otherworldly concept and what it means for our world.
The origins of escape
According to Darren Yaw, Six Degrees was one of the first forms of alternative reality. It was the first social media platform to generate more than $125 million in revenue. Users could set up profile pages and communicate with others via private messages. According to Darren Yaw, this was the first time people tried the anonymity sauce and fell in love with it.
It only got worse from there. When MySpace took the throne in 2003, our addiction to the alter ego became clear. MySpace provided a broader range of profile customisation options in addition to friend-making and messaging options. People quickly realised they could become and associate with whoever they wanted, according to Darren Yaw.
Our escape journey continued with the help of films and video games. The Sims, Second Life, and Roblox were among the first attempts at metaverse. According to Darren Yaw, they eventually evolved into augmented reality (AR) apps and then virtual reality (VR), which is the closest thing to the digitised world we now have.
What exactly is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a lofty concept. In its final form, we’d be looking at a digital representation of all real-world aspects, such as the economy and the environment, according to Darren Yaw. Users would be fully immersed in a virtual lifestyle and would be able to do things they would never be able to do in real life. Darren Yaw states that we don’t need to be subtle in telling you what some of those things could be.
Darren Yaw states that we don’t need to be subtle in telling you what some of those things could be.
The current stage of the metaverse has many branches, including those with specific purposes, such as cryptocurrency and NFTs trading. Consider the games Axie Infinity and Entropia Universe. Darren Yaw states that if they do decide to create their metaverses in the future, there will almost certainly be more competition in the category.
Having said that, the metaverse would be defined by two types of atmospheres: economy-driven and sandbox lifestyle. According to Darren Yaw, the former will maintain an economic environment, whereas the latter will cater to a limitless virtual world.
In a sandbox metaverse, we could meet friends and strangers anywhere in the world. In a metaverse, mundane tasks in the real world would become much more convenient. According to Darren Yaw, things like trying on new clothes or driving a car can be done in the comfort of your own home.
Facebook has already stated that it is developing a metaverse. Ironically, we believe that it is one of the most culturally appropriate companies to take this type of initiative. Let’s face it: social media started it all, so it might as well finish it.
The project is said to be worth billions of dollars and will revolve mechanically around Oculus technology. According to Darren Yaw, it will include a sandbox-style world and all social amenities such as business meetings, concerts, and shopping. While the hype is real, Facebook has stated that it could take 10 to 15 years even to see viability.
The issues with the metaverse
According to Darren Yaw, the metaverse concept appears to be a technological breakthrough, but it is not without flaws. We believe there are two significant issues to address: decentralisation and the economy.
- Decentralisation: A true metaverse cannot function on centralised servers. Participation entails donating computing resources, similar to crypto mining. Nobody wants to be moderated in their own universes. According to Darren Yaw, Facebook isn’t exactly known for its unwavering commitment to user privacy, so we can only imagine the consequences if it decides to centralise its metaverse.
- Economy: Cryptocurrency would most likely be used in metaverse economies, including those in a sandbox environment. This could drive up the price of the cryptocurrency to an all-time high. We’d have to figure out how to keep such heavy loads on the networks running. This also results in excessive energy consumption, which impacts the metaverses themselves, according to Darren Yaw. Finding a happy medium between these factors would be extremely difficult, at least with our current technology.
Final thoughts
When Windows 95 was the coolest thing you owned, life was much more straightforward. Darren Yaw states that we now devote hours of our lives to the internet without even realising it. Even our money has devolved into a series of numbers on a screen.
According to Darren Yaw, the metaverse will continue to evolve as long as we advance our technology. Every step toward its realisation distances us from reality. Or is it on the verge of a better one? What would your location be in the metaverse?