The Metaverse, a concept that was born in a science fiction book, is already part of reality. The term was coined in 1992 and became popular in October 2021, with the announcement by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Meta (formerly Facebook), that it is the new bet for the social network.
It is a virtual world to which we connect using a series of devices that make us think that we are really inside it, interacting with all its elements. This place is a free chat room with avatars. This means users create a fully customizable character and, through Oculus VR headsets, can interact with the world and other people within the metaverse.
It is said that virtual reality opens other scenarios to human coexistence. True, technological advances now offer new forms of coexistence. However, technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it helps to enhance the best of human beings, but also the worst. Among the best examples of this are social networks, designed to promote contact and camaraderie, freedom of information, and unity beyond physical barriers. A dream that has been hindered by increasingly dark uses such as misinformation, bullying and harassment. Even more serious is if all this happens on image platforms like Instagram or limited characters like Twitter.
As more tech companies consider developing virtual reality games, there are more concerns about insecurities in the metaverse. A New York Times report shows that experiences of harassment and aggression are increasingly normal among users of the digital world.
An incident of sexual harassment in the metaveso is already documented. Connoisseurs warn that before this or similar possibilities, users should use the safe space, a tool that prevents other users from getting too close.
Meta has recalled that users can record this type of behavior thanks to one of the security features in the metaverse.
Research conducted by Meta concludes that “in immersive virtual reality environments, bullying experiences can be exacerbated by features such as synchronous voice chat, heightened feelings of presence and embodiment, and avatar movements that can feel like violations of personal space. (such as simulated touch or grip). Simultaneously, efforts to govern these developing spaces are made more complex by the distributed landscape of virtual reality applications and the dynamic nature of local community norms.”
Not even these studies have prepared women for the new forms of harassment in the contemporary world. Those affected insist on the search for urgent solutions. They say they already experience enough bullying in the real world without having to experience it in the growing digital environment as well.
Despite the problems, Mark Zuckerberg promised to take into account the privacy of users. The company reported that it was investing $50 million in research to develop safe and violation-free virtual reality.
Meta asked its employees to volunteer to test the metaverse, but there were security issues there, too. Given this, the company admits that it is difficult to monitor everything that happens between users. “It’s practically impossible,” said Andrew Bosworth, an executive at Meta, according to the Financial Times.
Earrings in the real world. Despite the difficulties in registering cases of harassment, there are more and more people behind the morbid inconvenience and making complaints to the respective technology companies.
Despite the fact that the metaverse allows the creation of one’s own space to organize events and brand campaigns and build a bridge with customers by offering them an immersive and closer experience and that virtual reality can be used by marketers to provide customers and prospects information about the products and the possibility of trying them without leaving their home, the experiences in this first stage reveal risks to the reputation of the brands and companies that use this resource.