Over the years, technology has revolutionized our daily lives and our world. It has made our lives easier, faster and more enjoyable. It has paved the way for multifunctional devices such as smartphones and smartwatches. Computers have advanced in such fascinating ways making them faster, more powerful and more portable than ever before. Who would have thought that humans would be able to video call each other while at different corners of the globe, be able to share videos, memes, photos in seconds and after the recent pandemic, be able to hold business meetings, conferences and even teach classes via screens? However, technology did not stop there; it keeps advancing and will further transform our world and our lives. A recent discussion has been about the metaverse, as Mark Zuckerberg showed the world what the future may hold and how it will change their lives. Talking about it and understanding it is so important, to discuss the metaverse today would be like talking about the internet in the 1970'; looking at where the internet is today, technology has helped us in so many ways, your phone has almost everything you need: you need transportation? just call an Uber! Need to remember an important event or memo? Just write it down in notes! Want any information on any topic? just google it!  

The metaverse is even wilder than that, it's a vague and complex term, it doesn't refer to a specific type of technology, but to how we interact with technology. The metaverse is essentially a virtual reality where people will be able to engage in a wide range of activities that are the result of both digital and physical interactions. Instead of looking at a screen, you will be within all your online experiences such as shopping, concerts, and meetings. Each person will have an avatar that represents them, making the metaverse a second world. This idea has been around since 1992, when Neal Stephenson wrote about it in his novel "Snow crash". Many companies like Facebook, which recently became Meta, Microsoft, epic games and many others are working to make the idea of a metaverse a reality. Many people think that its just another game like Fortnite- but as Mark Zuckerberg and many others explain, its much more than just a video game. The metaverse has many benefits as it will help make your online activities more interactive, The metaverse offers many features: there are no barriers between the digital world and the real world, it will always be active - you can't really turn it off. The experience of any activity in this virtual world will feel real, creating strong social bonds between users, as well as having a significant impact on the digital economy since users will be able to sell, buy and create things as people do with NFTs now. Anything can happen in the world of metaverse. No one knows exactly how it will be or what it will look like, because no one really knows what the future holds. For now, the metaverse appears to be more like a simple video game. It may seem like an amazing idea but it will ultimately have its own drawbacks and limitations, or we still don't know how it might affect humanity. It also looks like a more developed version of VR, but we can't forget that VR causes physical pain and motion sickness if worn for extended periods of time. 

In conclusion, the metaverse has been the hottest topic of 2021, nobody really knows what it will look like and how it will affect us. It is still an artistic impression of what the future might look like, but looking at the Internet today, the idea of the metaverse is clearly not an impossible thing. 

By : Karen karnib