How The Metaverse Will Change The World

Lately, it's close to impossible to not come across the "Metaverse" on the Internet. Although it was first described two decades ago, it recently garnered a lot of interest; internet searches for the term increased by 7,200% in 2021. In December of the same year, Mark Zuckerberg declared his ambition to help bring the metaverse to life and, in a bid to do so, Facebook was rebranded as Meta. Following this, Microsoft announced that its proposed acquisition of gaming giant Activision provided building blocks for the metaverse. 

Many companies have since then dived Into the concept, partnering among themselves, pouring capital, and raising funds. In 2021, $10 billion was raised by metaverse-related companies,  surpassing as much as twice what they raised in the previous year. The global value creation opportunity from the metaverse could,  in the years to come, be in the trillions.

What is Metaverse? 

There's yet to be a single definition generally agreed on by the interested parties, however,  recently, Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist, attempted to give an insightful take. According to him: the metaverse spans both the virtual and physical worlds,  and multiple platforms; the metaverse exists in real-time, encompassing immersive environments, often using virtual or augmented reality technology; the metaverse is powered by a fully functioning virtual economy, often built on crypto and digital assets, including NFTs. This is quite inclusive. 

Metaverse could be referred to as the ever-evolving convergence between the physical and digital worlds which comes closer to realization every time we replace a physical element with its digital equivalent. It is the great Physical-Digital convergence. 

Technologies such as AR, VR, blockchain, 5G, edge computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) fill the gap between both the physical and digital worlds (the convergence) and collectively introduce "decentralization".

How Will Metaverse Change the World?

Work 

From the onset of the pandemic, there has been a decline in the need for physical contact— although things are normalizing now. Many companies and organizations adopted a work-from-home method, partially or totally. Although the world is gradually being relieved of the pandemic, working remotely is now an integral part of the everyday workforce. The shift in work culture means that everyday moments that would occur in an office are being replaced with virtual alternatives. 

While platforms like Zoom, Google meet, Discord, and many others have taken care of this so far, there is a need for much more personal and connected interactions between people than it is on the 2D internet world. The metaverse, offering a 3D environment, has hopes of being the virtual environment for these social moments.

Employees of the same company spread across the globe could meet up in the metaverse to brainstorm at highly creative levels to solve problems. They will be transported to a virtual office where they are looking across at their colleagues without leaving the comfort of their homes just by putting on a VR headset or AR glasses. 

Education

Metaverse will alter the structure of education. By choice, students may or may not physically attend a university; they will be able to attend university classes in the metaverse. 

Regardless of their real-life location, teachers and students can meet up in a virtual space through the virtual reality headset. For those willing to seek education, this functionality presents endless possibilities and a remarkable potential impact on education. 

For instance,  a group of students scattered around the world, with a common interest in learning history, and a teacher based in Nigeria who loves travelling the world and is frequently visiting new areas. This is an impossible classroom; however, with metaverse, the teacher can meet with the students irrespective of the difference in location. A more interesting feature of the metaverse is its ability to, alongside audio, show an immersive 3D environment. This exciting feature doesn't only help in teaching, it improves assimilation as it provides a serene virtual academic environment.

Commerce

Buying and selling are basically the exchange of values. When you buy an item,  you give an item of value in exchange. In the virtual 3D world, if you are buying an item you could use in the virtual world, then you are most likely making payment using another virtual item of equal worth such as an NFT or cryptocurrencies. There's no need to travel several miles and pass through the stress of being physically present at the store.

Also, shopping in the metaverse; your avatar could try on clothes, purchase them and have them shipped directly to your physical reality address. There is no need for the struggles in the dressing room. And if you are shopping for home decor in the metaverse, you can place the item in your digital reality home to see how it looks before actually purchasing it.

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Sports and Exercise

Sports and Exercise are not left out. New equipment, companies, and technologies are promoting an at-home fitness lifestyle such as Peloton and the Mirror; exercising in the Metaverse may become the norm for many.

You can also schedule an appointment and meet up with your personal trainer in the metaverse. You can exercise without being bothered by the noise, movements, and presence of other people. Metaverse will bring the freedom of exercising effectively without leaving your living room.

Entertainment 

The entertainment industry took a big hit due to the pandemic. Many concerts were cancelled and TV shows were cut short. However, a new way of delivering concerts emerged. A digital reality concert was held starring Travis Scott. The concert attracted 27 million people who entered as individual avatars. The audience was able to buy skins for their individual avatars and other types of digital merchandise while in the metaverse. 

You can also visit the zoo, gaze at the animals, or choose to be one of the animals. You can go to parks or gaming centres in the metaverse. 

Global Economy 

People, by purchasing virtual real estate, are investing in the metaverse, with the belief that it will soon hold the majority of the world’s wealth. It’s like investing in domain names. Investors buy domain names, put a price tag on them, and wait for someone to come along, wanting that domain so badly that they will pay hugely for it. Virtual real estate is similar to this.

The market value of the metaverse is estimated to be about $800 billion by the year 2025.

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There are more ways than can be mentioned by which metaverse will influence the world. It will revolutionize virtually all aspects of human endeavour.

Conclusion 

There is a healthy amount of scepticism about the metaverse, and companies are advised to exercise caution, since the promise may take a while to catch up to the hype. However,  from all indications, we are at the cusp of a fundamental shift in how people use the internet.