The world as we know it is becoming virtual as we speak. The 2D games that gamers played on consoles attached to the television sets have turned into a 3D gaming experience. The games later transformed into an immersive gaming experience when played by wearing headsets. Akin to the evolution of the gaming industry, social media has also transformed over the years. Facebook’s decision to change its corporate name to Meta, in connection to the metaverse, is another leap forward. We are one step closer to living in the virtual world—like the Matrix. It is sort of how Wade Owen Watts/Parzival from ‘Ready Player One’ is portrayed to live in OASIS, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
This connection between the real and virtual worlds was always there. Perhaps it began in 1821 when Charles Babbage invented the Difference Engine to compile mathematical tables—the precursor to modern-day computers. The human mind built gadgets and machines based on codes, software, algorithms and eventually stumbled upon the Internet. The Internet had a monotonous few decades in terms of product development. However, with Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook entering the domain, we were introduced to a new world of applications, avatars, and augmented reality. We were given a faster mode of communication, interactivity, data transfer, content creation and sharing and exchange of information. The pace at which this connectivity has been undergoing is truly unprecedented.
We can say our real world is being redesigned based on how science fiction movies showed us our future. It is something similar to what Hiro Protagonist can do in the metaverse in Neal Stephenson’s novel, Snow Crash, published in 1992. Stephenson coined the word metaverse, which is his vision of how the Internet will look in the future—based on virtual reality and resembling a massively multiplayer online game (MMO). While the concept of a metaverse is not original—as media and people already discussed it—it was Mark Zuckerberg who talked about it on social media and attracted global attention. He is bridging the divide between the two worlds— the real and virtual.
The 3D version of the Internet is right around the corner. News reports were floating that the virtual reality headset, Oculus Quest, will be called Meta Quest. One will wonder the kind of a world Meta will give to its users. Or will we refer to the Meta users as “experiencers”? It will surely be an experience to live another version of yourself in the virtual world complete with the options and the decisions to lead your life the way you want—with no boundaries or limits. It also seems to be a frightening idea, to say the least. Imagine if humans end up living isolated in pods wearing a virtual reality headset. They experience living a life in the digital domain while thinking of completing tasks with their physical bodies. This seems to be a far-fetched idea but Meta can be the first step to reach such a stage of human evolution at the virtual level.
When commenting about the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg told verge.com that, “The metaverse is going to be both future platforms and social experiences.” He added that “People think of us as a social media company, but the way we think about ourselves is that we’re a technology company that builds technology to help people connect with each other.”
Muhammad Omar Iftikhar is an author, columnist, and fiction writer with over 20 years of writing experience. He has published over 1,000 articles in Pakistan’s print media and is the author of four books. His debut novel, Divided Species (2020), is a science fiction story set in Karachi. His other books include 20 Steps to Writing Articles (2022), Recreate Your Tomorrow! (2023), and Player AI (2024). He has been a public speaker for over a decade, conducting more than thirty sessions for various brands and organizations.