THIS WEEK AT BUNGIE - 12/01/2022

Metaverse and the New World of the Internet

The world of the Internet appears to be a large and limitless world, where you can find within it all the information, topics, pictures, videos and music you need; And just about anything you can think of. But what many may not know is that - before all these advantages that exist today - the Internet was numbers and pages of programmatic text that lost life and lustre, and then developed into what we see today.

 Article contents

• What is the term Metaverse 

• What is metaverse technology 

• How to enter the world of metavirs

• Sports and metaverse

However, the one thing that hasn't changed about it is that it's still just a screen medium; That is, we see what is inside it and hear it while we are sitting behind the screens of our phones or computers. The question here is, will there ever come a day when the Internet becomes not just a world behind screens; Rather, it transcends it to become a world that we can access and harness all of our senses within it?

We will know the answer to this question in the next article; So follow along with us.

 

What is the term Metaverse?  

The term metaphysics was invented by "Neil Stephenson " writer and author of science fiction novels, who gave the parallel world in his novel ( Snow Crash ) that name; He talked about humans using avatars that mimic their personalities within that world, and his name came from the word "meta", which means "beyond", and the word "virus", which means "universe"; So ' metaverse ' means 'beyond the universe'.

 

After that, many films and animations were shown that talked about parallel worlds that humans can enter, such as the movie ( Avatar ), the movie ( Ready Player One ), and the well-known animated series "Digital Heroes ".

 

What is metaverse technology?

 

The fantasy has now become a reality, and the signs of this metaverse are beginning to appear; From the statement of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to the advent of the fifth generation technology, augmented reality glasses, and the brain chip that billionaire “ Elon Musk” works on, and other technologies that will provide us with an enormous connection speed to the Internet, and enrich us About the huge processors, heavy equipment, screens, etc., whose success will make the awaited metaverse an experience that includes all the senses, not just sight and hearing, and will lead to turning the scales of the world so that we can see what we were watching in the movies a clear reality before our eyes.

 

Metaverse technology

It is a virtual communication technology for social media with augmented reality technology and aims to create virtual worlds so that the user, through his avatar, can do a lot of actions and interactions, such as playing a game in partnership with travelling friends as if they are sitting together in the same room, or visiting the city that He dreams about it and wanders its streets and watches other users in this city wandering in his room, or perhaps going to shopping in the mall and buying what he wants from his home using only augmented reality glasses.

We can say that metaverse technology is like making the Internet a three-dimensional world that does not stop when you see it from behind the screen; Rather, it allows a person to enter it so that it becomes a part of its environment, and interacts with it with its different senses.

How to enter the world of metaverse :

Currently, the company( Facebook ), which changed its name to "Meta", started working on metaverse technology and the virtual world, and the first application of Metaverse was a virtual meeting application for companies called ( Horizon WorkRooms ), and its users need to wear augmented reality glasses from the company ( Oculus ) to attend a company meeting, while everyone is in a different location.

Unfortunately, the price of these glasses is as high as $300; This will make it difficult and limited to a certain group of users; So only those who can buy them will be able to roam the virtual worlds using their avatars. 

Sports and metaverses :

Many people are too lazy to go to the gym, and some of them do some home exercises; But with metaverses and augmented reality glasses, all users will be able to exercise from the comfort of their homes, such as joining a virtual aerobics or cardio team, and users will also be able to enjoy running on a treadmill as if they were running on a mountain road or the seashore.

Games in Metaverse :

Certainly, the games will be available in metaverses and with distinct interactive features; Several companies, such as the company that designed the game “ Fortnite ” and the company that designed the game ( GTA ) and the company ( Vertigo Games ), announced that they are working on updates and special features in the interactive environment of their games, to support augmented reality glasses and grips sensitive to movement and pressure; This allows the user to interact with all his senses as if he were inside the game.

 What are the basics of metaverses?

What distinguishes metaverse from the current Internet are three things:

• Presence: The user will become present through his avatar as if he is personally present in the virtual environment, and will interact with other users with all his senses.

 

• Eco-Spatial Navigation: This feature will allow you to go anywhere you want in the world, such as going to "Paris" for example or attending a " D " party J in " Miami " with your friends and without having to leave the house, and wander in the streets of any country, and see its features in the form of high-resolution graphics that resemble reality very much.

 

• Standard Integration: With the remarkable advances in technology, many devices are running on the Internet; So, using metaverses in the future, the user will be able to operate all systems and technologies using augmented reality glasses and just waving his hands.

metaverse And Facebook :

Not long ago, Mark Zuckerberg's statement about changing the name of Facebook to "Meta" and starting to design virtual reality " Metaverse ", which will constitute a qualitative leap in the future of the Internet, will be available to all. Users of Meta social networking applications.

Mark announced that within no more than 5 years, Metaversees will see the light, and everyone will be able to do a lot of their work and meetings, as well as play and hang out with friends, both from his home and no matter the distances, and he also stated that he invested about $ 1,000,000 to finance the companies responsible for designing this world.

Fears of Metaverse Technology :

Facebook has previously been accused of violating users' privacy. Therefore, Metaverse technology will not be spared the accusations regarding the violation of privacy and security as well, especially with the idea of opening the world to all cultures and dealing with them within the Metaverse; Which will allow users to know the personal data of other users, and give them the ability to track any person by monitoring all his emotions and decisions; This allows the company to use the personal information of users in advertisements and collect a lot of profits and money.

Troubleshooting Metaverse:

When introducing any new technology, it must suffer from some problems that may stand in the way between it and users, and the expected problems of metaverse are the following:

• metaphysics is a world that depends in particular on the senses of sight and hearing; Therefore, those who have problems with them will find it very difficult to deal with this world.

• Communication problems and Internet speed, especially in developing countries that suffer from weak Internet speeds, and you will not succeed in using metavirs.

• The high cost of augmented reality glasses and related accessories, not to mention the possibility that metaverses may not be free. Who knows, the user may be required to pay a fee to join it.

Disadvantages of using metavirs :

• Social isolation: With the spread of the Internet, social relationships weakened, and people began to spend a lot of time behind their screens, isolated in their rooms, and it seems that the upcoming metaverse technology will make the situation worse. The new virtual world is expected to dominate reality, and make people virtual characters devoid of realism as well; As metaphysics may become a daily lifestyle that the user escapes to live the details of his life in detachment from reality; Which weakens family ties, and distances the person from those around him, so he spends time with holograms of other users with whom he may not have any relationship whatsoever, but he shares with them a specific game or other activities in the metaverse. 

• Living in the Metaverse: The opportunity to live inside the Metaverse and get away from reality may be an attractive thing sometimes, especially with all those technologies and features that this virtual world will provide, provided that metaverses are not used as a lifestyle; Rather, it is a way to make life easier. However, if future users are provided with food and drink to compensate for the basic needs of living, they will be expected to live inside the metaverse in exchange for the whole real life.

 

All of the aforementioned negatives are not unfair and exaggerated. As we see examples of that in our time, what have we left for the future?! Note that most of the influences that cause these behaviours are:

• Lack of parental care, neglecting children in front of screens for a long time.

• Poor parenting, leaving the child to use phones to play and watch children’s programs for a long time.

• Decreased intimacy and feelings of love and parental affection.

• Lack of family bonding and communication.

• Lack of conviction and contentment, not to mention jealousy of others.

Therefore, those who suffer from these previous problems in the metaverse will find a haven, an escape, and psychological comfort away from the noise of their reality.

The effect of metavirs on the psychological health of users:

• Changing users' thinking patterns about real life.

• behavioural perceptual change; Live interactions, social life, feelings, environment, and people become based on animated holograms, and cartoons are static, bizarre, and unrealistic.

 The researchers also linked the psychological effects of online games to the future effects that Metaversees will cause, including:

• Social isolation.

• hallucinations and psychosis;

• Loss of self-control.

• Behavioural addiction.

• Anxiety disorders and insomnia.

• Inability to make true friends.

• Depression and schizophrenia.

in conclusion:

Metaverse and any kind of current or future internet are considered dangerous if it is misused or overly addictive. And as a closing tip, live your life to its fullest, travel, go to parties, strengthen your relationships with your family and friends, and leave the internet a little behind.