Table of Contents
- 43-year-old British woman has alleged that she was verbally and sexually harassed in Facebook’s metaverse, Horizon Venues. She said that within 60 seconds of her joining the virtual world, three or four male avatars “virtually gang raped” her avatar and took photos of the same.
What is the metaverse?
- It’s a combination of multiple elements of technology, including virtual reality, augmented reality and video where users “live” within a digital universe.
- Supporters of the metaverse envision its users working, playing and staying connected with friends through everything from concerts and conferences to virtual trips around to the world.
- The word metaverse was first used in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopic, cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. It is a portmanteau of the words meta and universe.
- Virtual reality is as much a blessing as a curse to humanity. Virtual developers are trying to connect to every aspect of human being’s real world. Be it human interaction, marketing, education, virtual reality is migrating into everything.
One common theme
- The metaverse will be a virtual world that parallels our IRL lives. Digital neighborhoods, parks and clubs will spring up, possibly in a single virtual world or spread across many.
- Some people see a metaverse that overlaps with the physical world and includes AR overlays. Investors are already splashing out on plots of virtual land.
- Barbados has indicated it wants an embassy in the metaverse, underscoring the cachet the concept has generated.
Facebook and Metaverse
- “The “metaverse” is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you,” says social media giant Facebook which recently rebranded itself as Meta and in a way started the buzz around metaverse.
- This digital space is gradually becoming “a new reality” for the present generation of kids.
- Kids these days prefer having a birthday party on metaverse where they can play and hangout with their friends in virtual avatars. Instead of having a small cozy party in the living room with cakes and chips, the inclination has shifted towards virtual celebrations, thus making it the new reality. Marriages have also been solemnised in metaverses!
Concern Raised
- The young generation is quick in grasping new things, and technology attracts them the most.
- While many see it as a better alternative to the physical world, many others, psychologists, especially see it as a trouble.
Back to the Gang Rape Issue
- Describing the incident in a blog post, Nina Jane Patel said, “Within 60 seconds of joining — I was verbally and sexually harassed — 34 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos — as I tried to get away they yelled — ‘don’t pretend you didn’t love it’ and ‘go rub yourself off to the photo’.”
- Describing the incident in a blog post, Nina Jane Patel said, “Within 60 seconds of joining — I was verbally and sexually harassed — 34 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos — as I tried to get away they yelled — ‘don’t pretend you didn’t love it’ and ‘go rub yourself off to the photo’.”
‘Realness of Metaverses’
- In her blog post, she went on to say that “virtual reality has essentially been designed so the mind and body can’t differentiate virtual experiences from real” and, hence, there’s a ‘realness’ to experiences in the virtual world.
- “In some capacity, my physiological and psychological response was as though it happened in reality,” she wrote.
- The Proteus effect is the tendency for people to be affected by their digital representations, such as avatars, dating site profiles and social networking personas.
- Typically, people’s behaviour shifts in accordance with their digital representatives.
Meta Responds
- In response, a Meta [Facebook] spokesperson quoted by Business Insider stated, “We’re sorry to hear this happened. We want everyone in Horizon Venues to have a positive experience, and easily find the safety tools that can help in a situation like this – and help us investigate and take action.”
Why are psychologists worried about its impact on mental health?
- Today’s social media platforms are already dangerous for some kids and teens. Virtual reality’s level of immersion could make those problems even worse.
- In September 2021, a Wall Street Journal report cited studies of Facebook over the past three years and revealed how Instagram affects its young user base.
- The study said 32% of teenage girls had revealed that Instagram made them feel worse about their body images. As per reports, over 40% of Instagram users are below 22 years old.
- The virtual avatars on metaverses can be modified as per the likeness of the individual and psychologists say this is a serious concern and can give rise to body image concerns among teens.
- The psychologists say the idea of having a virtual fictional identity can mess up with a person’s identity and there can be situations where a person may find it difficult to accept his or her real identity and individuality.
Question:
In which one of the following year, face book was invented?
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
- 2000
Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF
WhatsApp