Immersive technologies like extended reality (XR) technology, including augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), offers consumers a three-dimensional experience of being physically present in a digital world. When combined, they help form the ‘metaverse.’
Where the metaverse is now is like talking about the internet in the 1990’s. We don’t exactly know exactly what it will entail, but we are starting to form some ideas. It will likely reshape society – how we socialise and work.
With Grayscale investments estimating the metaverse to a trillion dollars market opportunity, it is predicted that we are on the cusp of stepping into an entirely new society.
If this is accurate; I don’t believe we will be going back, and with corporations like Facebook, Microsoft, Nike and Roblox now involved, I believe that eventually every company will become a Web3 company.
What makes the metaverse so special to me as a creative and tech-driven entrepreneur, is possibilities. In the metaverse, you can create things that aren’t possible in real life.
Scrutinising the metaverse in its early stages
Recently, through our BRIAR PRESTIDGE – The Label corporate collection, in partnership with Republiqe, we launched NFT power suits for avatars and showcased them at the world’s first Metaverse Fashion Week on leading VR platform, Decentraland.
Lots of people asked me why? For me, the answer was simple. I wanted women to be curious about this new space, and encourage them to participate. The world is continually evolving, the only constant thing in our lives is change.
We need to adapt also, otherwise we risk being left behind. Anyone can play games like The Sandbox, Decentraland, Axie Infinity. You just need a PC or mobile device, an internet connection, a VR headset, and a blockchain wallet. Scrutinising the metaverse at this early stage is vital in avoiding some particular areas of concern. We need framework to protect users, and we need to be users who are alert.
Building a metaverse that ensures women’s safety
Through technology evolution, we must be mindful to protect young women’s exposure to unrealistic standards of beauty and unbalanced recruitment within the Al workforce.
The world of tech is still mostly male dominated which means that not only is there a gender bias emerging, there is also a shortage of female role models; making women feel somewhat unwelcome in the field.
There is still a gap in gender equality, from pay disparity across industries and societal bias and pressures on women. Under 25 percent of tech jobs globally belong to women, closing these gaps requires a shift in collective thinking and behavior.
Awareness is key, but awareness doesn’t equal action. We need to encourage our youth when they show interest in tech and sciences as a career-path, especially our girls and people of colour. And those of ours who have the capacity to hold the door open for others to join need to get on board.
Women participating in the industry can effectively advocate for us and ensure that what gets built is relevant to our needs and safety. If we have a chance to create a whole new ‘world’, then let’s make that world fairer, more equitable, safer, and more inclusive for everyone.
Mental health in the metaverse
We’re about four generations deep into living in a world with the internet, and I believe that social media addiction especially has highlighted to us that time we spend online needs to be practiced in moderation; which is far easier said than done.
Our feeds on social media platforms are determined by an algorithm to ensure that we get the content we want to consume and spend maximum time online. Our apps constantly entice us to return by pinging us with notifications, creating a dopamine hit in our brain.
We now place huge weights on our digital identities, and to some, how they come across on social media sometimes means even more to them than real life.
Social media addition is real, and it’s my hope is that as a society, we are able to use this experience and knowledge to safely navigate and build the future of the metaverse. The metaverse will continue to be a natural progression for how we will interact digitally in the future, and it will impact all parts of our lives.
While having the internet in the palm of our hands has made our lives better in many aspects, there is a real risk of disruption to our equilibrium and potential for these sorts of platforms to impact behaviour, inform social identity, affect mood, and pose a threat to impressionable youth, or those who are prone to addiction.
We need to pre-empt this and be responsible users; overuse of digital technology can harm anyone. But, just like using the internet responsibly has changed society and industry for the better, so too can and will the metaverse.
Briar Prestidge is the CEO of Prestidge Group and BRIAR PRESTIDGE – The Label
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