The actual difficulty for businesses as the metaverse becomes more tangible is persuading millennials and baby boomers to embrace this parallel reality.
The term “metaverse” has taken the globe by storm. From gaming companies like Epic Games, Niantic, and Roblox to clothing brands like Nike to tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung, and even automakers like Hyundai, brands across industries are investing heavily in what one of the biggest proponents of the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg, has described as the “successor to the mobile internet.” Its adoption influence was also noticed at the CES 2022 when large tech firms and startups alike showcased goods and services centred on this notion.
Trends and tech CEOs have predicted that the metaverse is on its way and that it will have a significant influence on our lives. Despite the widespread global enthusiasm for this notion, many businesses and executives are wary of it. On the other hand, others have neither acknowledged nor rejected the concept’s effect.
The apprehensive ones
Apple intends to avoid this trend in its much-anticipated mixed reality headsets. According to the company’s CEO, “the concept of a wholly virtual world where people may escape – as they can in Meta Platforms/vision Facebook’s of the future – is off-limits from Apple.” While the business is developing mixed reality headsets, it envisions them being utilised for shorter periods such as gaming, communication, and entertainment, which is much different from how the metaverse has been conceived.
On the other hand, Amazon has remained silent on the subject for the time being. According to rumours, if it decides to enter the products industry, it may become a significant player. Google and Tencent have sent conflicting messages. “On the metaverse, I believe this is interesting, although a little bit ambiguous notion,” Tencent President Chi Ping Lau stated.
“So, just as you talk to people, see them, and engage with them, computers will become more immersive.” They’ll be there for you when you need them. So, I’ve always been enthused about the future of immersive computing, ambient computing, and augmented reality,” Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai recently told Bloomberg.
In contrast, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has just derided the entire notion. “I don’t think we’re going to vanish into the metaverse.” “This simply seems like a jargon,” Musk stated in an interview with The Babylon Bee on YouTube.
But why?
While much has been stated in support and opposition to the metaverse, one question that has yet to be answered is what gap the metaverse will fill or what issue it will solve. The response also explains why some people (both organisations and executives) are sceptical about this approach.
Suppose you claim that the metaverse would provide individuals with a digital collective social experience. In that case, the counter-argument is that video conferencing services, social networking platforms, and online gaming platforms currently provide users with that experience. If you claim that it will be “an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not simply looking at it,” as Zuckerberg phrased it, then why raise the sensory mass load and tyre consumers even more?
The acceptance of the metaverse by the general public is the fundamental basis for some people’s scepticism. It was the same with social media when it first appeared over two decades ago. While corporations are ecstatic about it and praising it as the next significant digital trend, whether it will be accepted with the same zeal by end-users remains to be seen. Sure, the tech-savvy Gen-X will be eager to check it out; after all, they already utilise a number of these very complicated platforms, but that generation represents just a tiny portion of the entire user population.
The actual difficulty for businesses as the metaverse becomes more tangible is persuading millennials and baby boomers to embrace this parallel reality. And that isn’t going to happen quickly unless the metaverse provides some actual benefits other than being a more comprehensive social media experience with a few more perks.
