Crypto enthusiasts and investors alike are going gung-ho about the Metaverse like it is the largest societal disruption that civilization has ever seen, even as the globe continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic's effects.
In an effort to grab consumers' attention, the word "metaverse," which refers to any virtual environment where people may interact with one another, is now being informally applied to any project including virtual reality (VR), gaming, or even non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Market analysts predict that the metaverse will grow into a multi-trillion dollar sector at some point, and a slew of businesses are vying for investor attention by branding their product lines as "metaverse" in an effort to capitalize on this prediction.
The world genuinely stood in rapt attention when Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), indicating its shift to concentrate on virtual worlds, and the sales for its Quest 2 VR headsets skyrocketed.
However, the company admits that the metaverse will need to incorporate much more than just VR gear, such as augmented reality (AR), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and of course VR.
Yet, many continue to wonder how much time people would actually want to spend in a virtual environment and whether or not the metaverse will actually be a secure place for people to interact.
Identity theft a major drawback
You can be anybody you want to be in a metaverse, which may raise security issues.
For instance, someone with ulterior motives may exploit your identity for unlawful actions.
This highlights the difficulty in establishing one's identity because bots may readily duplicate your appearance, data, and even personality.
Different identification procedures like voice recognition, retinal scanning, and face scanning will be required, making the gear required to enter the Metaverse both big and costly.
This will prevent its broad adoption, since it may become expensive for the public.
Societal challenges
The social factor may also be a concern, as users may start spending more time online and less time with their real-world friends and family.
Their chances of being addicted might increase their feelings of loneliness and isolation, which could later harm their academic or professional careers.
Metaverse likely to evolve into a global online economy
The Metaverse is likely to extend beyond gaming and evolve into a global online economy with billions of users, making it vital for every platform to work with other blockchains and enable rapid, simple cryptocurrency exchanges while assuring the security of all transactions.
Before we start expanding the metaverse, we need to address the financial risks as well as the threats to social and mental health.
Identity is one of the major problems that will arise in the Metaverse, a problem that does not exist in the physical world. Identity theft is already a significant problem, making it difficult for anybody to establish their identity or develop a solid reputation.
Identification will be a challenging problem to overcome, and most importantly, how can you even demonstrate that you are who you say you are, rather than some other human or even a robot trying to imitate your existence?
This is where a digital entity's reputation may be crucial, not just in terms of authentication, but also as proof that it is a reliable and legitimate entity.
Legal system, regulations a worry
Another concern is whether the legal system is adaptable enough to apply to a virtual environment.
Since blockchain can record immutable ownership, it is simple to fix the problem with regard to cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
However, legal rights and their enforcement provide a very different set of difficulties.
The community developing the metaverse faces the biggest difficulty of controlling these virtual spaces, that go beyond financial considerations or the protection of identity thefts.
Concerns over regulations may be the metaverse's death knell considering the fast-expanding customer base that not only participates in it but also invests a large percentage of their disposable income in it.
The Metaverse, also termed as the biggest disruption humanity has ever witnessed, is currently making a lot of noise.
Given how quickly the Gen Z population is becoming addicted to the metaverse with each passing day, we cannot deny that it is here to stay.
Critics voice concerns over individuals' safety
There are, however, certain voices, mostly skeptics, who feel the metaverse is just another overblown narrative and that, like other sectors, it will have to overcome the key difficulty of preserving user privacy and ensuring an individual's safety.
This issue has previously come up frequently in cases where women have reported acts of sexual misconduct.
Regulations needed to govern the metaverse
Free speech is another issue, and the lack of regulations that are supposed to preserve this fundamental right in the metaverse can lead to its undoing.
This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that anybody and everyone can join the Metaverse today without any safety or security-related checks, thanks to the efforts of many firms.
Every stakeholder in the Metaverse has to focus on building a balanced community and managing it.
Undoubtedly, law enforcement authorities and governments from all over the world will need the earliest possible implementation of suitable measures to assuage these fears.
The metaverse, whether a boon or a curse, is a reality.
While its advocates will have enough material to continue praising its virtues, it would be foolish to ignore the serious problems that currently plague the metaverse as we know it.
Eventually, only time will tell if humanity is able to transform this alternative virtual reality into something deserving of all the time and resources being invested in it right now.
