Humanity’s Innate Desire to Connect: A Critique of the Metaverse
Author: Fey Shue | Project Consultant 2023
Why write?
The Metaverse intrigued me because of its inevitability. I saw this as an opportunity to explore the human psyche, and the wretched path our society is taking under the influence of capitalism and technology.
Not only this, the future that the Metaverse promised seemed too perfect. For all the lives of wheelchair users and office job workers which the platform supposedly elevates, what is the price we have to pay?
We were walking along Swanston Street, hair flicking against our cheeks as we scanned the area -left to right- for some underground cafe in some inconspicuous alleyway. My friend turns to me with furrowed brows, like she’s about to ask me a thought provoking question as she always does – a thought experiment, for us to endlessly ponder and hypothesise.
“Do you think BeReal will stick around?” She asks, with the intonation of a question as she finishes her sentence; as if I had the power of foresight. “Like, will people keep using it?” Or will it fade like the Pokémon Go’s and Tumblr’s of our generation – a few avid users to this day but not nearly at its peak in popularity. She’s asking if this is a temporary fad, some passing trend rather than a lifestyle choice.
To me, BeReal is more like a digital diary than it is a spontaneous snapshot of my day. It’s a company’s attempt, like many others’, to capitalise on our humanly desire to connect with one another and to express authenticity.
Of course, I would much rather entertain the question than answer with a ‘Maybe?’
With my usual tinge of pessimism, I started, “No way.” I was activating my power of foresight. The internet has become an extension for each of our personal brands. We present a version of ourselves to cater to specific audiences, and the more specific the audience, the more accounts we create. They all have the same password but have varying degrees of oversharing, often euphemised as ‘relatability’.
Yet, in a generation raised to perform, we’ve become increasingly aware of its diminishing novelty.
But what does all this have to do with the Metaverse? A term first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992, science-fiction release ‘Snow Crash’. While lacking a precise definition, it envisions a system of interconnected virtual realities where users operate via digital avatars.
The irony of internet authenticity
This ‘fiction’ is much sooner going to be reality as projects like ‘Microsoft Mesh’ by Microsoft and ‘Horizon Worlds’ by Meta (previously known as Facebook) are bringing this vision to life. Meta states that it is building platforms that “help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.” With this, it seems we keep reinventing superficial means of having a conversation – we’ve even remixed it into apps to dance, apps to date, and apps for five-second selfies.
Tech companies are advertising tools for real social connection but to the design’s contrary, they only foster a microcosm of performative authenticity. With more and more ways to ‘connect’, it exhibits the desperate craving for real connection that we desire.
TikTok filters and hashtag ‘candid’ posts parallel a ‘Black Mirror’-esque dystopian reality. As the Harvard Business Review raves, “you can make friends, rear virtual pets, design virtual fashion items, buy virtual real estate, attend events, create and sell digital art.”
When are we as a society going to realise that we can’t create a conversation out of ones and zeros? Are we blind to the irony of social connection via virtual reality?
The dichotomy between real and fake is becoming confused. Sooner than later, ‘virtual’ will no longer be synonymous to ‘fake’. The Metaverse exacerbates this.
What’s real and what’s fake?
When we log on to Zoom, we know it’s time for a business discussion or a team meeting, but when we log on to the Metaverse, what are we? Is the difference between our avatar wearing a suit or wearing a shirt? Then will there be a reason at all to log off and disconnect?
As the likes of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have metastasized into our day-to-day lives, will the Metaverse likewise become an extension of our reality? Some suggest that humankind’s accessibility to the internet and its vast stores of information is reminiscent of cyborgs - part human, part tech. In response, Donna Harraway’s 1985 essay ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’, explores the “collapse of boundaries” between organisms and machines, the physical and non-physical. Our growing dependence on technology implies that we must no longer treat digitalisation as a capitalist venture, but as supplementary to our lifestyle.
However, relationships developed online are a weak imitation of reality. At the core of real human connection lies emotional attachment and trust. I don’t doubt that online relationships can facilitate both. Nonetheless, my doubt arises from the understanding that now more than ever, we are ‘spoilt for choice’. We live in a time where we have an endless selection of friends, families and lovers. As a result, we have become desensitised to the infinite number of opportunities granted to us. Exposure to these opportunities obscure our ability to be intimate with one other. In other words, as our desire and expectation for intimacy grows, our availability for it shrinks.
Enough with the theorising though. In 2018, Akihiko Kondo married the well-known, digital game character Hatsune Miku. His motivation was to have his love be realised and “concrete”. He also stated that it was because reality was “too painful” alone. He was not the first, and he will most definitely not be the last. Some call it the ‘epidemic of loneliness’.
This is arguably an extreme example, but it brings into question the legitimacy of online relationships: do they hold real value? Or, does this severe reaction to loneliness embody the superficial nature of online relationships?
Evidently, it seems that this charade of online relationships only parody the real connections that we seek. Instead, we should reject the notion of merging reality with simulation.
The internet trolls are getting an upgrade
Moreover, our safety cannot be guaranteed in this unprecedented environment. Cyber safety is overshadowed by our greed for progression and advancement in the industry. An unregulated digital space will lead to more than just targeted advertisements. It can quickly become a dangerous place, especially for younger internet users.
Behind a screen, there are seemingly fewer consequences. The sense of anonymity that historically emboldened netizens to instigate unjust criticism and threat under the guise of free speech, will again be exploited. We need to first establish an enforceable rule of law and limit the use of the Metaverse, such as with strict age restrictions.
Additionally, while gender and sexual identity can be safely explored in the Metaverse, it unleashes the floodgates to false identities - like catfishing on steroids. For instance, users have the freedom to pose as any race, simply by changing avatars. Internet trolls would have a field day with a tagline like that.
Should instances like this be policed? Would such a thing even be criminalised or is it considered a form of self-expression?
Precautions should be put in place before we attempt to commercialise the Metaverse. A platform that is void of regulations and federal reinforcement is simply a recipe for anarchy; cyber crime stoppers are a good starting point.
More distraction brings more damage
Conversely, outside the realm of tech obsession, there are real world problems for which disassociating will simply not fix. The social and class divide plaguing our society will not be erased in the Metaverse. In fact, it has the likelihood of amplifying it.
The internet is a place where targeted content and shockingly accurate algorithms reign supreme. Users are consuming content at a rapid and consistent pace because it adheres to their worldviews.
Similarly, the Metaverse has the ability to encourage more concentrated and outspoken communities. While connectedness was the goal, it instead creates an impenetrable echochamber.
The tribalism of these like-minded individuals would not be reflective of real life, and in an unlikely turn of events, would pull them farther away from reality. Becoming complacent from our likeness will only make us less able to coexist with those that differ from our worldviews.
A migration to the Metaverse only temporarily satiates our inherent desire to bond as social creatures. This is not what we want. We will convince ourselves that it is, but just like living on Mars – it’s really only for rich folk to escape climate change – while the rest of us complain about taxes and debt.
It’s all quite fascinating, and it’s all happening quite fast. We should consider the implications and necessary precautions that must take place before we indulge in this over-the-top scheme for what is essentially escapism.
In response, my friend pauses and thinks, as these thought experiments usually go. “I think BeReal will stick around. People want to be real.”
The notification flashes on her screen: ‘Time to BeReal’. She puts her phone away. “Let’s get to the cafe first.”