The Metaverse

Zuckerberg’s Metaverse: The Not-So-Far Future
 
In the past few months, you may have heard of something called the ‘Metaverse’. Maybe you’ve heard that it’s going to take over the internet; or maybe you’ve been told that it’s we’re all going to live there tomorrow. Or perhaps you’re convinced it’s not real – living in a virtual universe only happens in science fiction stories, right?
 
Well, yes. That is – for now.
 
Unlike most things, the Metaverse doesn’t technically exist; it’s more of an idea, or dream for what the not-so-far future could possibly bring, dreamt up by Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the tech tycoon who has been watching (and selling) our every move online since the start of his company, Thefacebook (then Facebook, now Meta) in 2006. He describes the idea of the Metaverse as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you”, similar to how virtual reality works nowadays. However, he also emphasises that we will not only be able to experience alternate experiences and realities from the comfort of our own homes, but that this is something that we will be able to undergo with other people, a revolutionary idea in an age where tech is, so far, generally limited to one’s own experiences.
 
This is still all up in the air for now though, and it is unlikely that you’ll wake up in a virtual world tomorrow. However, Zuckerberg’s persistence with chasing the idea is inspiring a lot of people, and shaking the public – and you – that this is a future that is coming increasingly closer to us as a society, and poses the real question that perhaps these Silicon Valley stargazers have forgotten to answer: are we ready?
 
Find more information about the metaverse and what it will be like at https://www.theverge.com/22701104/metaverse-explained-fortnite-roblox-facebook-horizon or watch this video to see Zuckerberg’s interpretation of what he believes to be the future of tomorrow.
 
By Iva Shehu (12.JSD)