Meta's impact on our future: A glimpse into a technology-controlled world

 Facebook. Inc is the 9th most valuable firm in the world, it is one of the leading social media companies with a market capitalization of over USD567.51B. Facebook. Inc holds the biggest social network with its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp having billions of users. But, on 28th October 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook. Inc will be now called Meta.

But now the question arises of why has Facebook changed its name? Is it a sign of something big coming?

So the simple answer is yes. 

Meta is entering a completely new space of Metaverse. So first we should understand what is a Metaverse.

Metaverse consists of two words ‘Meta’ meaning ‘beyond’ and ‘Verse’ meaning Universe, therefore, Metaverse can be defined as something that is beyond the universe. It can be considered a parallel universe that is as same as earth, it has all the humans, animals, buildings, and everything that you can imagine, but in the virtual world, you can easily access using your smartphone.

Meta is significantly working towards its target. In 2014 Meta (formerly Facebook) acquired the gaming and VR company Oculus for a whopping amount of USD. Oculus (Meta) is currently working on developing hardware and software for making Virtual Reality real. They have launched a project called ‘Cambria’ which aims to develop headsets that can take you to Virtual Reality. According to Meta, these headsets will be launched in the midst of 2022.

Right now Metaverse seems to be a vague concept but Meta is working hard to make it a reality.

Why is Meta moving on from its social media network?

Despite being the top player in social media networks Meta is transitioning from a social media company to a metaverse company.

 It is because social media is a declining business.

Social media companies earn through the attention span of people. But as people are getting aware of the fact that social media is only for feel-good purposes and it is just a waste of time. Thus, people are leaving these platforms or decreasing their time spent on these platforms. In January 2022 Meta reported that Facebook(it’s one of the companies) has lost over half a million users daily in the fourth quarter of 2021 and its net income has declined by 8%. After this incident, Meta addressed a crash of 26% in the US stock market with a loss of USD230B in its valuation.

This data clearly states that social media has a very dim future ahead and Meta needs to revamp as soon as possible to sustain itself in the market.

How Meta will affect our life?

According to experts, Metaverse is a highly addictive concept. With its advent, it can take up to 90% of the human attention span (which is formerly 50%). If the data is true then Meta has the potential of growing by 100x or even more by making Meta a part of everybody’s life.

Meta will have mainly three revenue streams :

1. Charging fees from brands – As more and more people will be using Meta, brands will go mad to join hands with meta to show their advertisement to the people and this will create a huge revenue stream for Meta.
2. Charging from people – Meta may consider charging people for using their services. It can be in the form of a nominal fee or a fee for a paid version.
3. Charging creators – As Meta will be a huge and interactive platform, content creators will also be attracted to it, resulting in increased revenue for Meta

How Meta will control our life?

Metaverse seems like a thrilling concept to most people out there but many people claim that it is the most horrifying notion for them why? 

According to Louis Roseberg;

“I find this terrifying. That is because virtual reality will fundamentally change all aspects of society and not necessarily in a good way,”

This statement clearly states that Virtual Reality can completely change humans fundamentally. Today human is at least connected with nature but with the arrival of Virtual Reality, all things will be blended in such a manner that you can’t find the difference between The Real World and The Virtual world. And that’s how you will be completely controlled by Meta. You will be stuck in a small bubble that you think you are controlling but actually, it will be controlled by Meta and from there Meta will make billions of dollars.

The only solution to this problem is Rational Thinking, thinking wisely about how Meta and related platforms work. Why they are so addictive is they are helping you to grow or make you dull.

What do you think about this topic comment down below?