Predictions for the Metaverse from All That We Know So Far

I n October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced renaming Facebook to Meta, leading to tech experts making predictions for the Metaverse platform soon to emerge. 

What does it mean? For laymen like us who are still trying to wrap their heads around the announcement, and just how quickly the world is adapting to it, we have tried to simplify it.

Metaverse, according to the founder of Facebook, can be best described as the successor to the mobile and internet world as we see today. If you recall Black Mirror, several episodes were showing how technology might change the course of human interaction.

Mark Zuckerberg is a known visionary, and so much so that he has bet the future of Facebook on this idea. 

So, what are the predictions for the metaverse since we are all entering it? Here’s how we see it happening. 

Remote Work Will Change into Digital Presence

Metaverse will most prominently change human interaction with the world. The way we view, and currently practice remote work (even during COVID-19), will change even further. 

The ability to transport ourselves to different and unimaginable locations in the world, within the same day, is looking possible with metaverse. 

Imagine having a life-like avatar of yourself, and that avatar is experiencing each location and attending meetings, conferences, and becoming part of the global workforce. Yes, that’s how work will become more creative, remote, and fun in the metaverse. 

No more dragging your lazy ass out of bed for a boring 9-5 job. Physical offices will be a thing of the past.

Greater Blockchain Adoption

Crypto, NFTs, and blockchain will be staying around for longer than we thought.

With metaverse, one of the most prominent and already present predictions is the change in financial transactions. Governments within the US states have begun embracing this change. Rayan Rahman in this contribution for Technically has talked about in detail how the cryptocurrency and blockchain payments have made millions in business so far, and it’s going only way up from here. 

According to him, “Governments have benefits of integrating crypto in that it puts transactions into public view, boosting transparency and reduces bottlenecks as the process is automated. It also gives them an edge over other cities, with a reputation for being fast-forwarded thinkers.” 

By the end of 2022, most governments are predicted to make use of a central digital bank, and Bitcoin is predicted to replace gold too shortly.

Meta-Influencers Will be a Growth Channel 

Nicole Quinn, in her research on the predictions for 2022, is confident that meta-influencers will be the next big influencer growth channel.

She says, and we quote, “the metaverse will attract a brand new kind of influencer. Their avatar will inspire consumers and build emerging and global brands.” 

Influencer culture has been on the rise for the past five years. With TikTok gaining more and more popularity, the prediction for metaverse is for the influencer culture to impact too, and be impacted by it for growth. 

Will Influence a Major Shift in the Education Sector

While smart technologies have dramatically improved the distant educational experiences, we anticipate the metaverse to accelerate spatial shifts across the education sector in the next 5-6 years. Pursuing education will be redesigned to include an interactive experience complemented by the digital records in the metaverse, rather than just text, images, and presentations available on demand. 

When it comes to the education sector, metaverse seems to be a natural experimentation playground.

Metaverse will recognize the global communication of high-quality resources, and benefit a wider audience of all age ranges and social groups. Companies who have begun their venture into the metaverse are demonstrating an interactive experience of studying history and space in this digital world, allowing us to envisage endless possibilities.

Revolutionizing Online Shopping 

Virtual avatars have been increasingly popular in recent years, presenting a variety of commercial prospects within the retail industry. Many customers today demand a blend of online and in-store experiences. Metaverse allows users to interact with products and brands through a personalized avatar.

The applications are unlimited, whether that's putting on clothes, everyday essentials, test-driving automobiles, or simply upgrading the user experience in some kind of a digital store.

As per the predictions for Metaverse, it can be revolutionary and entirely change how we see and experience the digital world. It might also have some harms that we are not yet aware of but let’s just hope for the best.