A common criticism of the metaverse is that it's overhyped. There are a few approaches to this criticism. The first group argues that technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality are already here. Therefore, what people like Mark Zuckerberg claim will come is actually already here. According to them, people like him are merely trying to rebrand an existing situation to profit from it.
It is true that key concepts of the metaverse are already in use. We have Snapchat filters, military simulations, cryptocurrency markets, and more. What we do not have is a combined virtual capability of multiverses. This is what the metaverse is about. We already talked about the world transitioning from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. During this transition, it is perfectly normal for the key elements of the metaverse to be incorporated into various applications. The vision for the metaverse will continue to evolve with the outcome of these applications. To say that the metaverse is already here is like saying an apple has reached its full potential because a single pie has already been baked. It is simply short-sighted.
According to the second approach, metaverses are unrealistic. Those who believe in this view see the metaverse as Sci-Fi hype rather than something revolutionary. It is obvious how outdated this statement is. Two hundred years ago, there were unexplored parts of the world. A hundred years ago, it took weeks to reach a remote part of the world. Fifty years ago, it took hours to reach someone on the telephone. Twenty years ago, the internet speed wasn’t enough to sustain a video call. Now, we carry the world with us on our phones. Technology grows at an exponential rate. There is no reason why the metaverse cannot be as common as a smartphone in the following years.
The problem of laws and regulations is a more realistic criticism of the metaverse. The need for laws and regulations in society is unquestionable. There is, however, the problem of governments being notoriously slow and critical towards technological developments. Companies like Meta and
Google are constantly hit with fees, forced to explain their trade secret algorithms in court, and struggle with authority in general.
In a perfect world, bureaucracy would recognize technology as a tool that helps them too. To an extent, they do. The last decade has seen institutional digitalization all over the world. Still, they have difficulty addressing web-based technologies from a legislative perspective. Many countries have yet to enact comprehensive laws around the internet, while others ban web applications outright.
Metaverse users, especially those involved in crypto markets, should be worried about this issue. It is one thing to decentralize information, but a completely different thing to decentralize currency. Some countries have already banned Bitcoin. Most countries are likely to pass some kind of regulation regarding cryptocurrencies. If you are invested in cryptocurrencies, watching the news regularly is a thing you should be doing.
On the other hand, we live in a world where people use VPNs just to access Netflix in another country. It is safe to say that if you want to join the metaverse, there will be a way to do so. Banks are already starting to explore blockchains and smart contracts. As far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, they are still a relatively new thing for the mainstream, so it is normal for centralized economies to adapt. You should be able to take proper action to protect yourself as long as you stay informed.
Other regulations might be trickier. Currently, metaverses operate according to their own rules. Governments have yet to decide whether and to what extent they will impose rules on them. Public officials have a duty to protect society's well-being. As metaverses become more popular and side effects occur, they will want to take appropriate action. This is an issue for the distant future, so any discussion would be pure speculation. Keeping up with the latest developments is the only action to take.
