The Metaverse in a Post-Pandemic World
In the landscape of technology, few concepts have captured our collective imagination as much as the Metaverse. Once science fiction, the Metaverse has become a discussion about the future of social interaction, commerce and business. But as the global pandemic fades, we’re left with a question: Was the Metaverse’s rapidly growing interest a response to our deeper human needs, or was the interest just enforced by the circumstances?
How the Pandemic Shaped Our Virtual Lives
Remember the early days of the pandemic? The world felt like it had come to a standstill. Except for digitalization efforts that made remote work easier, including the concept of a Metaverse, that had a unprecedented surge. We did a decade of evolution in a few years time. Fast forward to today. The pandemic is officially over for now, and the Metaverse now competes with the physical reality for social interaction. It’s almost as if the interest is gone, and we’re left wondering: Was the Metaverse just a pandemic-era phenomenon, or does it have the staying power to fulfil our deeper social needs?
Is the Metaverse a Temporary Refuge or a Lasting Solution?
Here’s a thought: Could the Metaverse’s quick rise during the COVID-19 pandemic be linked to our deep-rooted need for meaningful, immersive social connections? As Amy Webb discusses in her book “The Signals Are Talking”, for a trend to have staying power, it must address a basic, unchanging human or business need. Does the Metaverse do that? Or was its rise just a response to the temporary circumstances of the pandemic?
The Human Factor: What Really Draws Us to the Metaverse
The Metaverse’s appeal isn’t just about the technology; it’s deeply rooted in our human needs and desires. A study titled “COVID-19, Crisis, and Emotional Stress: A Biocultural Perspective” shows that the lack of human interaction led to increased emotional stress (Source). Research like “Virtual experience, real consequences” shows that our brains react emotionally to virtual interactions just as they would in real life (Source). Could it be that the initial appeal of the Metaverse was just a way for us to get a more meaningful social interaction with our loved ones, and now the the threshold, technologically and emotionally, are too high in contrast to the benefit?
Investments and Technological Leaps
While it’s undeniable that the technologies enabling the Metaverse have seen significant investments and technological leaps. We’ve seen how fantastic 3D environments and objects have moved from entertainment to commercial, corporate and industry use. We’ve seen leaps in immersive capable hardware and an increased amount of global players taking interest in this race.
But it’s important to not forget the human element. My hypothesis suggests that “the initial appeal of the Metaverse was closely tied to fulfilling a basic human need for deeper social interactions“.
As real-world options for socializing and interacting return, the Metaverse will need to offer something uniquely compelling, serving a basic human and business need that doesn’t go away.
Where Will We Go from Here?
In a post-pandemic world, the Metaverse finds itself at a pivotal moment. Initially got a spike in interest by effects of the pandemic, the interest is now fading when we return to ‘normalcy.’ Correlation or causation? I believe its a little bit of both. While technological advancements have been significant, the real question lies in the Metaverse’s ability to meet human and business needs.
As we’ve evolved digitally in a short span, the Metaverse must now prove that it has long-term value. It needs to become deeply human.
Sa ask yourself, what basic human or business need would benefit greatly from immersive, decentralized, and/or Phygital applications?