The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece offering predictions about how the metaverse will affect our well-being and everyday lives. The metaverse is “a hybrid of today’s online social experiences,” allowing us to connect with others even if we aren’t together in person.
Associated promotional material featured Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg perusing a variety of outfits for his avatar in the metaverse before leading a friendly tour of a home surrounded by lush islands, a “forest room” complete with flying koi fish, and colleagues playing a card game while floating around a futuristic-looking pod.
The possibility is both thrilling and terrifying. When it is possible to tweak to your heart’s content how you and your surroundings appear, will people prefer this alternate universe to that of the physical world?
Although we don’t know the long-term consequences of augmented reality, the data we do have lend some support for the average onlooker’s concern. Online platforms, including social media, have been associated with a range of negative mental health effects in users, particularly teenage girls, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation.
Although these results are troubling, it’s worth noting not everyone using these platforms, including teenagers, reports negative effects. This was reflected in Facebook’s internal research leaked last year. For example, of teenage girls who reported feeling negative about their bodies, 32% said Instagram made them feel worse. However, 22% said using the platform improved their body image, and 45.5% said it had no impact.
Discussions about technology and its ability to warp our beliefs about ourselves and other people should focus more on what differentiates those who have positive experiences from those who have detrimental ones and the role underlying vulnerabilities, such as low self-esteem or body dissatisfaction, play in increasing one’s risk for associated mental health struggles.
As technology continues to evolve and the rest of the world adjusts to pandemic-related changes such as working from home, school closures, and recurring lockdowns, this is increasingly the future we will be inhabiting, whether we like it or not.
Being equipped with the right mentality will ensure we are prepared to avoid possible pitfalls. This includes being purposeful with our usage, putting devices away to prioritize our real-life relationships, and remaining aware that much of what we encounter in the online world isn’t reflective of reality.
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of the Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.
