The Metaverse – Pros and Cons

We’re all for the construction of the Metaverse at Exarta, and we know more than anyone that the Pros certainly outweigh the Cons. But however you feel about it (excited or worried, hyped-up or terrified), its development is somewhat inevitable. And naturally, some of you aren’t quite yet sold on it.

So, with that in mind, we’ve listed all the qualities that will make you realize its immense potential. Oh, and we’ve also addressed any understandable anxieties you may have. Come on; you know that we always cover all the bases here.

The bright side – what are the pros of the Metaverse?

1. Social connection

We live in a world where social connection is hugely important to our younger generations – the same generations that will be running the world one day.

So finding means to encourage social connection is crucial to reducing the pghysical distances between people and connecting the world.

In the Metaverse, we say goodbye; farewell; toodle-ooo; and adios to geographical barriers! Once you enter the virtual world, you’re no longer bound by your physical location.

You can work or learn collaboratively with others. As if in the same office or classroom, and not just as boxed heads on Zoom calls. It’ll be as close to face-to-face as we can virtually get – and that’s a pretty remarkable feat.

All this is achievable because the Metaverse promises to emulate real-world social interactions and represent physical objects in three dimensions. People from all over the world can unite in the Metaverse and co-create in innovative ways.

Read also: Top Metaverse Trends of 2023

Finding people with similar interests and ideas to us will be more accessible than ever and feel more authentic. Watch out, Tinder; the next generation’s happy-ever-afters will be courtesy of Web 3.

2. Improbable and impossible immersive experiences

Jeez! Wasn’t that a mouthful? Someone had lots of ‘Is‘ and ‘Ms‘ in their Alphabites this morning.

In a recent poll, we asked what you guys would do in the Metaverse, and 31.3% of you answered ‘interplanetary travels‘. Only a select few humans on this planet can venture into outer space, but in the Metaverse, it could be any of you.

A whopping 50% of you said you’d try extreme sports, but not many of us dare to scale Mount Everest or have the nerve to do a skydive IRL. That’s where the Metaverse comes in.

Combining virtual and augmented reality, Web 3 platforms can deliver improbable (and even impossible) lifelike experiences to the masses. We can experience an endless virtual world through virtual headsets and haptic technology. We can try things that we’d only ever dreamed of doing. In what other capacity can we step outside our comfort zone and simultaneously remain firmly within it? *Drops mic*. 

Not to mention all the other out-of-this-world stuff you can get up to. In the virtual world, users can more accurately see and interact with physical objects – as if they were real. A car shopper, for example, could visit an auto dealer in a fully immersive Metaverse space, examine car models and test drive them as if in the real world. Purchase decision = made. Right?

3. New business opportunities

A point oh-so naturally expanded from our last pro.

Think about how branding has transformed with Web 2 and social media advances. From influencer marketing to TikToks and Instagram reels… We’re sharing our brand stories in ways we never imagined would even exist (never mind, become the top avenues for reach).

Emotional connection, engaging customer service interactions, inventive marketing methods, digital products, interactive shopping locations, data analytics, store optimization… Metaverse retail is the way forward for businesses. And we’re not biased, we swear, it’s just got so much potential!

Read more: 6 Savvy Ways the Exarta Metaverse Will Revamp Retail

4. Improvements to online education and learning

We’ve got 5 words for you: learning is coming to life. Want to know more about how the Colosseum was built? How about building it yourself on a trip to Ancient Rome?

We have trouble remembering facts for tests at the best of times. Many of us have to convert scientific equations into memorable jingles. And come up with random mnemonics to recall the colors of the rainbow. Or spend hours making vibrant spider diagrams, only to flunk on our final exam.

Forget all that. The Metaverse combines 3D and virtual reality to create immersive, personalized experiences that students will never forget.

Read more: Learn Something New Every Day – Metaverse Education

5. Virtual Economy

The Metaverse economy can be a model platform for immersive exchanges of digital assets with real economic value. 

The Metaverse creates new opportunities for financial gain.

People can invest in digital real estate and become proud owners of virtual land that will appreciate.

Read more: The Virtual Land Rush – What’s All the Hype?

Others are earning an income constructing various assets and buildings. Some are even finding Web3 jobs to pay the bills or participating in play-to-earn games.

It has the desired capabilities for driving the introduction of new trade activities and jobs in shared virtual spaces and the real world. 
Hold up. The Metaverse offers up new employment opportunities, too? This place is incredible!

6. Owned, developed, and governed by its users

A new world powered by the most advanced technology out there… Yet the most progressive part of Web 3 is that its users will experience full self-sovereignty.

That’s thanks to decentralization. This means that the Metaverse won’t be under a single supreme corporation’s control; instead, it will be constructed in collaboration with all of us.

Users can generate assets, content, and value in a mirrored extension of our natural world. In other words, they’ll develop the platform themselves and reap the benefits.

7. Inclusivity

It’ll be the ultimate equalizer. 

Not many of us have the time, money, or ability to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. So the Metaverse aims to give people worldwide access to lifelike, otherwise unattainable experiences.

Different cultures, genders, ages, ethnicities – every walk of life you can think of. Everyone is invited with open arms, and millions of digital avatars will be able to coexist at the same time. A neutral space where everyone can socialise as equals and live the life they’ve always dreamed of.

Read more: Artificial Intelligence and its Role in the Metaverse

The Uglier Side – What are the cons of the Metaverse?

We’re still very much in the construction phase of the Metaverse – it’s not yet a shiny, finished project. And we don’t pull wool over your eyes here. We’re as transparent as the blockchain itself, and well aware that a summary of the Metaverse’s advantages can only be concluded if we consider the disadvantages, too. 

Let’s address them for you.

1. Inaccessibility

The Metaverse sounds super fun. But it brings many new and advanced technologies such as VR headsets, haptics, and blockchain, among other requirements. The problem is that we cannot all have access to these advanced (and pricey) digital tools.

What’s more, fast and reliable internet connectivity will be a mandatory requirement to make shared virtual environments seamless. Yet people won’t all be able to access speedy, next-generation broadband and thus capitalize on the full potential of Web 3.

For the decentralized Metaverse to thrive and remain inclusive to all, we must develop plans to increase accessibility.

Companies will have to invest in these areas to ensure that their customers can enjoy the space.

2. Negative impact on society and culture

Bringing people together is positive. But fusing the world’s different cultures might risk losing its beautiful diversity. Is this new way of life worth the risk of sacrificing our connections to our small, immediate societies? Our regional traditions? Our uniqueness?

Exarta addresses these concerns. Our team works hard to keep everyone connected as naturally as possible in a world that mirrors our own. Planet Exarta will consist of virtual cities built in various differentiating continents and regions. Each city will adopt the local native language, architecture, landscape, customs and experiences.

3. Losing connection with the physical world

Captain obvious alert: we interact differently as avatars in the virtual world than we do as people in the real world. No kidding.

But while trying unexplored and out-of-this-world activities is fun, establishing new virtual behavior patterns could discredit real-world human behaviors. Worse, this could have a knock-on effect on our human relationships.

The Metaverse may blur the gap between the virtual and the real. It could desensitize us to our physical surroundings. How we’re feeling. How we interact with others.

Read also: Difference Between AI and VI – The Ultimate Battle of Intelligence

4. And then there’s the scare of addiction

Too much time in virtual worlds could lead to user withdrawal from real-world action. We mean. Those all-too-familiar TikTok rabbit holes are bad enough. “Just 5 more minutes” turns into 2 hours of endless scrolling. Come on, we’ve all panicked at that screen time notification at the end of the day.

Likewise, we could lose track of time within the virtual space. And due to the immersive aspect, it’ll be much easier to find ourselves spending more time in the Metaverse than we could ever spend scrolling on our phones. There’s a scary potential for us to be burdened by virtual blinders and become so focused on the virtual experiences that we fail to see what is happening in the real world around us.

VR “hangovers” are a known phenomenon, and people can experience post-VR sadness. This is because we can have so much fun in the immensity of the Metaverse that we feel a huge anti-climax upon returning to reality. 

Despite intimate exposure to the Metaverse, we’ve got to be responsible for maintaining our attachment to reality. We’ve got to remember that our real world also exists outside of the virtual one. We’ve got to find the balance between experience and life.

5. Cybercrime

Cybercrime is a serious problem that’s plagued us as long as it’s existed. And with a worry that the Metaverse will lessen the difference between what we perceive as the virtual and the real, how can we regulate it? For example, how do we police someone robbing a virtual supermarket? Or going on a purge? Is a virtual crime punishable the same way a real one is? Grey areas are never a good thing.

Can we guarantee that rules of law will be developed as quickly as a growing threat of potential crimes develops? The more advanced the AR and VR, the more crimes will emerge. 

What Actually is the Metaverse? A Beginner’s Guide – EXARTA

Data theft, assault, money laundering, cyber-bullying, the spread of false information, identity hijacking. As a decentralized space, how on earth can we govern this new world? Perhaps this whole Metaverse setup is a double-edged sword…

Woah, woah woaaaaah! What’s with this glass-half-empty attitude?

While the Metaverse could fuel future crimes, it offers many benefits for law enforcement. Let’s look at some real-life applications. Organizations could:

• Find out about Metaverse threats;
• Explore the practical responses to those threats;
• Offer hands-on officer training to handle high-pressure, intensely risky scenarios;
• Provide hands-on officer training in forensic investigation and other policing tactics;
• Run tours of virtual police headquarters, crime scenes, and high-traffic areas.

You’ll be glad to know that we’ve built the Exarta platform based on security by design. From the ground up, we’ve prioritized safeguarding for every user and stakeholder.

How do we do this? By utilizing world-class technology in encryption, data security, server-side and access management, and a host of added layers and protocols.

Decentralization will protect user identities and intellectual property rights. Ain’t nobody squattin’ on your virtual land – trust us!

Read more: Why Dropping Centralized Systems is Essential to the Metaverse

6. Privacy and security issues

Many Web 2 digital solutions today have been associated with concerns regarding privacy and security.

And we’ve got to be honest; existing issues still need to be resolved. So as an online-enabled space – the next generation of the internet – the Metaverse can lead to new problems in security and privacy for users. Issues that people worry about maybe even more invasive and intense.

 But DAOs are here to save the day. As digital systems that run on the blockchain through smart contracts, they’ll help us become owners of our data and assets.

These contracts dictate the rules of the Metaverse, the decision-making, and how governance unfolds. And the Exarta Metaverse will allow users voting rights and control over the project’s direction for a rewarding, fulfilling, community-driven experience.

As a virtual space that allows governance to the people that populate them, DAOS will increase trust in users and give you a sense of financial and psychological ownership over your online activity.

In a decentralized Web3, we’ll all be sovereign over our identity, assets, and data. What’s more, all the choices of software tools, hosting providers, and monetization methods are up to you.

Read Also: What is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is still in its early stages, and we’ve got a lot to learn. But once we tighten the safety and security aspects, the opportunities for individuals, groups, businesses (and whoever else wants a big slice of the Web3 cake) will be boundless.

7. Virtual Harassment

Hateful behaviors towards others can be found in all parts of the internet in its current form. And unfortunately, it’s not an overnight job to eradicate these issues as we enter the web’s latest phase. 

Social media has meant that school bullying has become more of a problem than ever before. And understandably, people have concerns that this epidemic will only worsen as we develop and enter the virtual world. Adjusting from Web2 to the 3D settings of Web3 – letting users feel fully immersed in the Metaverse – could give harassers more power to have a far more intrusive impact. 

That’s where our AI agent, Exii, comes to the rescue. Exii ensures user experiences are positive and enriching by preventing abuse and hate speech. Through machine learning observability, Exii acts as a watchdog, stopping harassment before it happens.

Read more: Artificial Intelligence and its Role in the Metaverse

Keeping the Exarta Metaverse a safe and inclusive space for everyone is at the top of our priority list.

Wrapping up

There’s always a flip side to the coin. The heads to the tails. A positive for every negative. A rainbow after every rainstorm. Sunrises after dark nights. A navigable solution to the issue. Silver linings, people.

What we’re trying to say is, that with all the risks and limitations that ‘could‘ happen as the Metaverse develops, an abundance of positive opportunities outweigh them. 

Ultimately, the Metaverse still has a long way to go before it’s perfectly augmented. Many pros will develop into something even more significant than we can comprehend today. 

Likewise, while the cons are still a concern, many of the potentially harmful things to come from the evolution of the Metaverse will dwindle over time as it becomes fully optimized.

The bottom line is this: there isn’t anything to be afraid of. Embrace the change.

And any anxieties you do have? There’s a solid remedy: learning.

Knowing more about the Metaverse is the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the future.