The term "metaverse" has been around for decades and was coined by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash. But the metaverse has gone viral lately, helped along by Mark Zuckerberg's decision to rebrand Facebook as Meta (META -0.19%). Since then, metaverse has become a buzzword, frequently invoked by the media to get article clicks, capture eyeballs, and use as a platform to discuss cool tech stocks.
But what exactly is the metaverse? Are we all doomed to live in it one day? And is it really worth all the hype?
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What the metaverse means for you
Just like the internet isn't a singular thing (it's made up of countless websites and applications and cloud services), the metaverse isn't being built by one lone company. Even Meta, which has laid claim to the whole technology concept with its name change, says on its website that "the metaverse isn't a single product one company can build alone."
That's why so many companies have started talking about the metaverse, or building a part of what could eventually become the metaverse. The internet has become a pervasive part of everyday life, so the metaverse could simply become an extension of it. Rather than thinking about the metaverse as some grand plan to trap us in dystopian use of technology, many companies envision use of the internet and computing technology that is more meaningful and natural. In fact, the metaverse is already generating revenue for some companies such as Meta, Nvidia, Roblox, and 3D development platforms like Unity Software (U +0.84%).
Of course, there are problems that will need to be solved. Security and trust are a top concern; how will people be able to verify that an avatar they're interacting with in the metaverse is truly who they claim to be? However, as Zuckerberg and other metaverse proponents point out, many of the issues that arise with immersive virtual worlds are innately human problems that predate the internet and even computing technology.
The question now is, when will the metaverse happen? The answer will be different for each of us and depends on if and when use of an immersive 3D space -- perhaps using a virtual or augmented reality headset or glasses -- becomes better than a traditional computer, smartphone, TV, etc. But, without a doubt, early forms of the metaverse are already in development and being used by some early adopters of technology.
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