Metaverse

by Piyush Kumar Pattnaik

Recently we have been hearing this word quite often and many tech companies
want to dominate with this idea. So “What is Metaverse?” metaverse got its
origins from a 1992 science fiction novel named “Snow Crash” from where this
concept of creating a virtual world. We already have a raw version of the
metaverse which we use in video games. Many may be familiar with games like
Fortnite, Minecraft where we have a virtual world on a flat-screen where we can
socialize with other payers but if we use a virtual reality headset. Hence, we got a
working model for the metaverse. Imagine doing all your daily physical activities
from your comfort zone without needing to change your location “I know that
would be amazing” and this technology is going to be a revolution that would
change how we see and use the internet.
For decades we have been using virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality,
etc. But this vision has to go through many problems we have been facing like the
headset challenges and many more. So, we can say that this technology is in the
developing phase but it’s not long when we see this technology being a reality.
This buzz was created when Facebook changed its name to meta making this
technology a core of their business, and now Microsoft is acquiring many
companies which would bring it into competition with other tech companies like
Google and Apple which are working on this concept for years. Many people
betting big on this idea.
But this has also attracted some criticism like this is going to violate information
privacy because companies are going to collect huge amounts of data like personal
data and biometric data from the headsets which is can be sold to make huge
profits. This is also being criticized for creating Internet addiction disorder, social
media, and video game addiction which may lead to mental and physical
repercussions. Metaverse also exposes more parts for computers hence making the
user more vulnerable to hacking can lead to virtual crimes like frauds and harder
for to police to track the people responsible.
Remember when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone which changed the way we
use phones. Similarly, metaverse promises a future that will change the way we
live our lives and perform our day-to-day activities. Hence metaverse can help leap
into the future.