Is the Metaverse the future of everything?

For many innocent (mostly middle-aged) web users, the metaverse is probably just another internet-born enigma that we put into the same category as words like ‘blockchain’ and concepts like ‘Nyan Cat Memes selling for nearly $600,000.’

However the metaverse is quite literally the future of the digital world…in fact, it could be said that even the dire predictions of economic collapse, climate catastrophes, and widespread cultural decline may not end up mattering at all if all future generations still have internet and can sit in their box rooms, completely unaware and plugged into a virtual paradise shopping for their avatars next skin.

Sorry I went off on a bit of a tangent there.

To make this concept clearer I should explain that the metaverse is often referred to as the next version of the internet, featuring video-game-style interactivity instead of static web pages, the concept was coined by the sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash.” It is a virtual environment that creates an ‘augmented’ or enhanced reality that we can interact with. An early example of a widely used ‘virtual world’ is ‘Second Life’. This game is a recreation of a whole world, a world so large that if you so choose you can check out of this life altogether and instead become a different person get married, hold a career have a family, and engage exclusively in the social and sexual escape this game offers. The addiction to second life has been such a widespread problem that you find very real stories all over the internet of how this game has destroyed real lives. 

Another metaverse most people (especially parents) are familiar with comes in the form of Fortnite the most successful video game of the past decade where people as cartoon-style characters jump onto an island and fight to the death. But Fortnite has become so much more than this, really it is a huge battle royal catwalk where children can display their next great outfit or weapon

So what does this metaverse future look like?

The different types of activities that will take place in the metaverse are limitless. For example, think about COVID-19, where events such as happy hours, weddings, school classes, and work were increasingly taking place with users participating digitally regardless of their actual geographic location. 

The combination of remote access to worldly activities with the already established ‘role-playing’ of the metaverse may well mean that the social expectations we place on beauty, health, and fashion may no longer apply to our physical selves but instead our future avatars.

Look for instance at the contracts big brands have made with the metaverse already. Ferrari recently bought a new line of fashionable skins out on Fortnite. Burberry has just done a deal with the video game ‘Blankos Block Party’ where they released a new creature called ‘Sharky B’, 30 seconds after Burberry “dropped the shark”, all 750 Sharky Bs had been snapped up at $300 (£220) a pop. Those who managed to get their hands on one are free to use their new creature within the game. If Sharky B owners wanted accessories for their new toy, Burberry-branded pool shoes ($50) and armbands ($25) were available for two weeks. 

In the world of entertainment, everything will and is already changing, following the success of Fortnite’s last live concert with artist Travis Scott, which saw 12.3 million live viewers, Ariana Grande is set to smash this record with a second concert soon to be held in this ever-evolving virtual world.

Already the nagging of children for the next pair of Nike trainers is in decline, instead, they want Robux or VBucks to buy them not for their own real feet but their avatars. Is the future of education a classroom of virtual characters sat answering questions set by an avatar teacher? Who knows? All we do know is like Artificial Intelligence, whether you agree with the morality of the metaverse or not, it is happening anyway. All we say is companies better jump on board or get left behind in the mundane and obsolete reality of the soon-to-be irrelevant physical world.