As you are aware, whether it be a group of people, a machine, or a nation, if anything is really good, it must also have some flaws. Because of this, we shouldn’t fully dismiss anything or think it’s too wonderful to be true.
The metaverse has been the subject of debate for some time; some claim it to be the next step in the development of the Internet, while others believe it to be harmful to mankind.
What, though, is the TRUTH?
What effects may the metaverse have on humanity, and is it beneficial or harmful for people and society?
Will residing in this virtual reality environment be advantageous or detrimental to people?
If you’re curious about how much of our lives the metaverse’s virtual world can take over, read on.
Or would doing this enable individuals to simplify their lives?
You will learn in-depth information on the potential negative effects of the metaverse on humans in this post.
We have provided several arguments and supporting evidence for this, which you need to be aware of.
Is the Metaverse Bad for Humanity?
Why the metaverse is bad for humanity? Let us know one by one all the reasons―
It is not secure enough for women.
A regrettable occurrence occurred in the virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds of Meta some time ago (former Facebook).
In which a female avatar was introduced into the Horizon realms by a girl using Meta’s Oculus Quest VR gear.
But after a while, he saw that a bunch of men avatars had approached her and were grabbing his chest and pestering her sexually.
Then, as the girl fought back and attempted to stop them, they said, “This is the metaverse; you cannot do anything here, anything may happen.”
However, this is not the only event; in fact, similar ones have occurred very frequently in this virtual environment.
where reports of sexual harassment by female avatars have surfaced.
These kinds of instances make it obvious that the organisations building the metaverse need to work more on privacy and security.
Because if this keeps happening, there will never be safety in the metaverse.
Let’s now examine the second factor.
Because anybody can do anything in the metaverse, it is harmful.
As you can see above, no one firm has any authority over the metaverse; everyone is entirely free to do whatever.
You would be aware that it relies on blockchain technology, which is entirely decentralised and not subject to any form of governmental control.
There is no regulating authority like the police that is waiting to hear your complaint if something goes wrong for you in this virtual world, therefore you are unable to complain to anybody about it.
Taking into account all of these factors, we can discern the negative effects of the metaverse on people and civilization.
No control of government
A small number of corporations, like Google, Microsoft, and Meta, now hold a monopoly on this virtual world, and they are investing billions of dollars to do so.
The government should control the metaverse, according to some scientists and technologists.
Similar to when a website posts inappropriate stuff online, the government bans it.
The government ought to control the metaverse in the same way.
The largest and most powerful technological corporations in the world will be the only ones with ownership of this if it is not controlled.
However, if the government establishes its own guidelines and regulations in this area, we can reduce instances of women avatars being “cybersexually abused.”
Misbehavior is extremely difficult to track.
In Meta’s metaverse, the negative conduct of digital avatars is disturbing. It is now deemed hazardous for women to use avatars online due to several instances of abuse.
Because some users think Facebook’s Horizon worlds are terrible, they are switching to Microsoft’s Mess platform.
You may conduct virtual meetings, hang out, work, play, study, and engage in fully immersive digital interactions with other people in virtual space in both locations.
Some people are reluctant to use the metaverse system because they believe their every online move will be monitored.
These businesses will record both positive and poor conduct in their records.
It is also asserted that if you spend a few years in the metaverse, these businesses will gather enough of your data that even if you leave it, your digital avatar will take your place there.
- Your gestures,
- your thinking,
- your way of working,
- your digital experience,
Your digital avatar can function in your place even when you are not there thanks to the data that is already stored in it.
From one perspective, there is no danger in these firms retaining your digital information as long as it is used to your advantage.
This is due to the fact that businesses monitor every single digital action in order to give you precise results.
If your data wasn’t being tracked, neither you nor the firms that manage social media networks would benefit from it at all.
Then, it will be advantageous for both you and the corporations to gather your data for them.
Therefore, there is no harm in doing so.
There is, however, a PROBLEM.
Why does this happen in the virtual world when there is misbehaviour and neither the data nor the identity of the culprit is even known?
Do businesses now make mistakes while gathering data, or has technology not matured enough to save the data of all digital avatars…
It’s not at all like that, though!
Firms track the data of every avatar, however some individuals who enter this virtual world for improper reasons disable the data tracking of companies, preventing any digital avatar from being able to identify them by their digital ID.
He may interact with anybody in this virtual environment by donning VR goggles after disabling the ID, which makes it hard for businesses to trace his data.
It’s also one of the factors that contributes to the metaverse’s mixed benefits for humans.
Realtime incidents not Recorded
What we told you above, in which a 29-year-old man tried to sexually harass a woman, but no one could find it.
This happened because no real-time event is recorded in the metaverse and there are downsides as well which have become a huge threat to humanity.
Because the the-time incident had been recorded in it, then the culprit would have been detected.
And this would have reduced such criminal cases in the virtual world.
Despite the entry of major businesses like McDonald’s and Nike, no one is adamant on documenting virtual events in real time.
It could be because it will take a lot of data, and the cost of the servers will also be extremely high for the businesses, but it is essential since it can stop many instances of child abuse and women rape in the metaverse.
If this is not done, negative metaverse effects on our society and mankind will result.
You can not complain to any regulatory body
If a criminal occurrence were to happen to you in the real world, you could go to the police station and report it or take your case to court and win justice.
In contrast, the likelihood that you will receive justice in this immersed digital environment is sadly quite slim.
It is an illustration of the metaverse’s Dark Side.
Because of this, hate speech, attacks, harassment, and other negative behaviours have quickly proliferated in the virtual reality environment that major corporations like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple are involved in.
Bad conduct has also been observed often in the virtual reality application VRChat. which have grown fairly widespread, such as online bullying and inappropriate touching.
In this virtual environment, digital engagement makes people feel so physically touched that they mistake it for physical contact.
Mark Zuckerberg has been informed that these incidences in Meta’s Horizon worlds are the result of his failure to install any software to capture real-time incidents. As a result, it is impossible to identify the offender and as a result, people are cracking down on him online.
Because it is the most cheap VR headset, the Oculus Quest headset is more often used than other VR goggles, which is why some claim that it was not created with safety and privacy in mind.
But when more and more instances of mistreatment of any avatar surface in the virtual world, all businesses should work together to find a solution.
Another reason the metaverse is terrible for mankind is because no firm has created a virtual environment that captures real-time virtual occurrences, making it simpler for criminals to commit crimes there and making it impossible to catch anything.