5 common metaverse misconceptions

“Meta… verse…” you think, as if splitting up the portmanteau is going to reveal a hidden meaning. This is the twentieth time you’ve heard the term this week. Your mind conjures up images of virtual reality, gaming and missing out on life-changing investment returns.

And while virtual reality or gaming are often the first things that come to mind when thinking about the metaverse, they’re also two of the most common misconceptions.

As with any emerging technology, there are plenty of different interpretations of what it is and what it means for the world.

Metaverse misconceptions

1. The metaverse is gaming. Nope, the metaverse is not gaming. Gaming is an activity you can do within the metaverse — along with many others.

2. The metaverse is virtual reality. Saying the metaverse is virtual reality (VR) is like saying that the internet is your phone. Your phone isn’t the internet: it’s a way of interfacing with the internet. In the same way, you can imagine experiencing the metaverse through VR, but you can also imagine experiencing the metaverse through your laptop.

3. The metaverse will replace the real world. The dystopian movie trope is that we’ll all be living in some barren wasteland, “plugged in” to a virtual world (i.e., the metaverse). However, in a less-bleak reality, the metaverse won’t replace the real world. It will be additive to the real world, an expansive virtual environment where you can do any number of different things: work, socialize, play, create, explore and more.

4. The metaverse is a fad. The metaverse is a fad in the same way cars were a fad and the internet was a fad. Yes, we’re still 5+ years away from a fully realized metaverse and the technology we’ll need is far from complete. But even today, we’re already living in a very primitive version: we work remotely, we socialize and learn virtually and we find entertainment without leaving our homes. Our human needs won’t change: we’re not going to stop socializing, learning, working, or looking for entertainment. However, as always, how we meet those needs will continue to evolve as our technology advances.[…]