Facebook and the Metaverse?
Before reading this article, I only had a slim understanding of the metaverse and how it relates to social media, but the article gives a great definition. It starts by describing the origins of the metaverse and how it is a fully-realized digital world that exists beyond the one we live in. They continue by observing how the metaverse is continuously expanding (which is honestly terrifying) and that it has gained momentum during the online shift of the pandemic. The term today refers to a variety of experiences, environments and assets that exists in the virtual space.
One example they give of what the metaverse looks like today is video games where you can build your own world, which has metaverse tendencies, similar to social media. The metaverse is now slowly creeping into our reality through virtual-reality headsets and in cryptocurrency.
Big tech is shifting a drastic way, and it's all leading towards a metaverse monopoly. Even larger companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft have been working on metaverse-based projects.
As mentioned, the ambition that Facebook has to create different software, hardware, and other technology for the metaverse means more sensors in people's homes that can collect vast amounts of data. Users would then be trusting Facebook to keep all of their data private. What could go wrong, right?
Today, many people are choosing to delete Facebook or simply reduce their use of social media and trust is a key factor in this. However, Facebook and the AI algorithm lead people to extreme content that has been under the spotlight and at the center of allegations towards the company. It has been argued over and over again that Facebook, along with others, put profit over people.
To look at this in a different light, Meta has pursued a transformation that has been good for some. It has created thousands of new jobs in labs that create hardware and software, allowed for those who work in social networking to apply for better jobs, and given engineers a new area of study. The company has even grown to where they have been able to rebrand some products such as the Oculus virtual-reality headsets.
However, these good things quickly cross the line into a potential privacy nightmare. Part of the idea of the metaverse, for Facebook specifically, is the immersive mixed reality business meetings. Employees could be forced to participate in this new working ethos or risk losing their jobs. Furthermore, if companies and employers decide to be a metaverse company, people would have to give out their personal data to a company that only works when something is in its best interest.
Due to this massive growth, a Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, has been anxiously warning those who are involved in Meta and the metaverse. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Haugen said the virtual reality world could give Facebook another monopoly online. This would make the app even more addictive and give it the chance to steal even more personal information from users. Haugen even makes the point to stress the issues this would cause as people would unplug from the actual reality in which we live, which I say is even scarier.
This, of course, would impact the collection of people's data, force people to put more sensors in their homes, and remove any kind of privacy people thought they had online.
Trust in Facebook is low (although that is nothing new or surprising based on its reputation) and experts remain skeptical about the safety, privacy and implications of the metaverse for the younger generation of tech users.
The average age of a Facebook user is 41, and that is increasing each year. The social network is now doing whatever it needs to reach younger audiences, so we must be cautious of that as more and more kids are introduced to technology at earlier ages.
Into the future, many people in the tech industry hypothesize the metaverse will be the beginning to an era in which our virtual lives will play a role just as important as our physical lives. Experts warn that this could still turn out to be another internet fad that could even be dangerous.
From this blog post, my intention was not to scare anyone further about online privacy or the metaverse. I simply thought it was interesting to see how the internet is growing. I also was able to learn some new things about online privacy and social network, which was helpful. I think social media can be a wonderful tool when used with caution and by sharing this development in the tech world, hopefully, I can make someone more aware of the potential dangers we could see in the future. The internet is big and filled with unknowns. It's important to be as informed as possible to keep our information as private and safe as we can.