• The Reality – Virtuality continuum integrates all physical, digital, and virtual elements into the Metaverse.
• Blockchain creates a trustless, permissionless, and open network for the Web 3.0 infrastructure.
• The Metaverse is the next step forward in our digital experience, because it enriches digital interactions.

We live in an era where our digital lives are equally important. Our digital identity is a fundamental component that helps unlock access to, what we now consider, a globalized society through the internet. However, with technology rapidly evolving, and consumer demand constantly growing, the internet is no longer fit to meet the public demands of a seamless, integrated digital experience.

The Metaverse Demand

In its current state, the internet is no longer enough. The global pandemic forced society to become more technologically-dependent, with concerts, events, and gatherings being held on Instagram, Zoom, and Facebook messenger. New digital experiences appeared with Travis Scott and Lil Nas X performing in digital gaming universes for millions.

Demand for an interactive digital environment is growing. Tech futurist Cathy Hackal said the “metaverse” is the successor of the internet because it embodies new aspects in which we’re seamlessly interacting with both humans and machines. 

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 set off a paradigm shift in consumer digital expectations as it forced users to become entirely reliant on technology. In turn, software and entertainment providers designed new digital experiences to help increase their exposure as leaders of a digital future. Tim Sweeney said, in a VentureBeat interview, that the Metaverse would slowly develop as both brands and individuals saw necessity in participation because it offers “much more interesting interactions.”

Additionally, NVIDIA’s CEO, Jensen Huang, highlighted that the development of the metaverse is “a little bit like the beginning” of the internet because we have not yet conceived of its full possibilities. Still, a major catalyst for development and application of the metaverse’s norms would be its decentralized nature. 

The author of “Decentralizing Virtual Reality” has argued that digital social interactivity in the Metaverse will be greater because “the perceived self-control” will incentivize participation. To a certain extent, we are already in the future as AR, VR, the internet, and blockchain are beginning to converge. With Facebook promoting a digital technological revolution, complete immersion into the Metaverse is not yet feasible, at least in this decade.

Inclusion in a transcendent ecosystem where AR, VR, and the internet shape the future is technology’s next step in building the reality – virtuality continuum. 

On The Flipside

• Incorrect implementation, or over reliance on centralized platforms to service the developments will disadvantage digital evolution.
• The current potential of the metaverse merely scratches the surface of what could be achieved in the long run.
• A new generation of digital natives is required before the Metaverse can become part of society.

Shifting Towards an Ownership Mentality

Inclusion in a transcendent ecosystem where AR and VR shape our future interactions is technology’s next step forward. Often referred to as the reality – virtuality continuum, it remodels our expectations of a symbiotic experience for the better. However, venture capitalist Mark Cuban argues that VR & AR alone are insufficient to provide the “wow” factor necessary to incentivize a behavioral change. 

Ed Lopez, head of ETF at VanEck, argues that the advent of blockchain as a foundation for developing a metaverse has further fueled a shift in how people consume digital products. As a result, demand for decentralization is growing, as participants have begun to experience actual digital ownership, which needs to be symmetrically aligned with trust. This being the case, as Marko Orelo from Prague University of Economics highlighted:

"As stakeholders hold the ownership over the DCL parcels on an individual basis, a strong factor of trust needs to be present within a subnetwork in order to enable collaboration."

A trustless network will help develop digital economies that are currently reliant on centralized platforms and are not network agnostic. When complete asset sovereignty is achieved, VR and AR will ultimately improve how we interact with digital content to mimic and enrich our everyday experiences. 

Why You Should Care?

The Metaverse is the next frontier in digital interactions, similar to our endeavors in space exploration. It’s of the utmost importance that the development of the Metaverse, whichever way that might be, does not bear similarities to the current broken, capitalistic society. That is why developers must work to advance the implementation of blockchain technology.