Summary

The article argues that the metaverse should be built on decentralized platforms to ensure user privacy, control, and safety, as well as to prevent any single company from monopolizing this next phase of the internet.

Abstract

The metaverse, envisioned as the next stage in internet evolution, promises immersive 3D virtual environments accessible through various devices. The author emphasizes that the future of online interactions and virtual experiences should not be dominated by a single entity like Facebook (now Meta), but rather developed through decentralized platforms. This approach is crucial to safeguard user privacy, ensure control over virtual experiences, and reduce the risk of data misuse, as evidenced by past data breaches and the testimony of whistleblower Frances Haugen. Decentralization, leveraging blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, offers a more secure and user-centric environment for the metaverse, aligning with the original ideals of virtual reality and the digital world.

Opinions

The metaverse should prioritize user privacy and control, avoiding the centralized model of current social media giants.
Decentralized platforms provide a safer and more private virtual experience, reducing manipulation and exploitation of user data.
Centralized social media networks have shown they prioritize profit and engagement over user well-being, as highlighted by whistleblower Frances Haugen's revelations.
The infrastructure and user base of large corporations should not be the sole drivers of the metaverse's development.
Users should have autonomy over their virtual experiences in the metaverse, free from the tracking and targeting prevalent in today's social media.
The metaverse, if built on decentralized principles, has the potential to positively influence mental health and societal advancement without being controlled by a single powerful entity.

The Metaverse Should Be Decentralized

No one company should control a monumental advancement in how we experience the Internet.

There is no doubt that the way we experience the internet has evolved and makes our lives more interconnected to the things we enjoy.

As the technology evolved, we transitioned from dial-up connections and slow-loading pages to wireless routers and lightning-fast connection speeds. We took accessing the internet from a desktop to a laptop and then to smartphones.

Today, we have access to billions of pages of information in the palms of our hands. We can consume information in written, audio, or video form and do so instantly.

We can connect with family — all over the world — without having to travel physically. We can laugh, learn, be entertained, and have virtual experiences that were not accessible in times past.

Social media is also evolving. Social media networks offer an opportunity to experience the internet in a curated way, and there are now more than 4.5 billion social media users, according to Hootsuite. The metaverse is the next iteration of growth forward for the internet, social media, and online experiences.

The metaverse is described as “a hypothesized iteration of the internet, supporting persistent online 3-D virtual environments through conventional personal computing, as well as virtual and augmented reality headsets.” The term can be traced to author Neal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopic novel Snow Crash.

The metaverse is the future of online interactions and virtual experiences. It will be a way to create a brand new way of living. The metaverse has recently come into the spotlight with Facebook’s name change to “Meta,” and Mark Zuckerberg painting a picture of the direction of one of the world’s largest social media networks.

With Facebook’s focus on the metaverse, there is no doubt that a wave of companies will follow and work to create products, services, and metaverse experiences. The question becomes: what’s the best way to join the metaverse, and who can you trust to experience the evolution into this virtual world?

While Facebook, other social media networks, and many large corporations have the infrastructure and user base to take consumers to the metaverse, our transition into this new world of virtual experiences should be through decentralized platforms. The metaverse should be decentralized.

Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and virtual reality have paved the path for the metaverse to be part of our daily lives. It’s important to consider who’s curating our online experiences, what information is fed to users, how our data is used, and who controls this new virtual landscape.

Whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked documents about some internal workings of Meta, formerly known as Facebook. Her testimony is just one example of how social media networks need our data to create precise advertising and use negativity to keep users glued to their platforms.

The way these social media networks curate our experiences online isn’t always in our best interest. At the end of the day, these are corporations that have to answer to shareholders when advertising revenue and time spent on the platform are down. For that reason, our data is tracked, traced, resold, and in some cases, used against us.

History has taught us that consumers need greater control. We’ve been a part of too many major data breaches by companies we trusted with our information. Are these companies that profit from our data and attempt to make us more addicted to their platforms who we should trust to curate and control our experiences in the metaverse?

The metaverse should be set up and accessed through user privacy and control first platforms. Decentralized platforms allow consumers to experience the metaverse from a place of more safety, greater privacy, and less manipulation. Decentralized networks give us, as users, greater control over our experiences virtually in the metaverse.

Decentralization is not a new concept, and it provides a more trusted environment because data is shared through distributed ledgers. It offers more anonymity and less of a need to trust the platforms like we have to with social media networks. Decentralized platforms take the power away from those who value profit over user privacy and control.

Experiencing the metaverse through decentralized platforms will mean enjoying a new world of possibilities with less fear of manipulation or our data being harvested and sold. It will give users control of what we see and do.

It will mean a metaverse that is set up true to the ideals that created blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, virtual reality, and a virtual world of possibilities.

The metaverse will be a new virtual experience that has the potential to either positively or negatively affect our mental health in a significant way. We should experience the future of the internet through platforms that put the user in control.

The metaverse should be decentralized. No one company should wield that much power over a vital advancement forward in our society and how we experience the internet.