Belonging in a multi-reality world
Connectivity gives us the chance to increase our social capital — to reach and connect with people and communities we otherwise wouldn’t have access to. It helps us challenge the social strata and the life opportunities we were ‘prescribed’.
Examples to illustrate my sociology mumbo jumbo:
- Job seekers, entrepreneurs & economic mobility. We know it’s highly reliant on who you know. But connectivity widens opportunities — remote work, building and sharing a portfolio, the direct message aka the chance to get acquainted with a key influencer over Twitter, etc.
- Mental health resources & social mobility. I found support groups online. I get access to more resources that help me be resilient. I read about people’s experiences. I belong to an online community.
So yes, connectivity is great. We can go on about education and how it helps with fighting climate change. I’ve been having quite a few conversations about the metaverse lately (surprise, surprise). I am excited about the opportunities it opens up for others in terms of getting connected. But I’m not excited about having another platform or reality, to be rejected on.
Anything wonderful is a double-edged sword. Something that allows us to connect, also allows us to be vulnerable to rejection. I doubt my current mental psyche can take any more than what we have now…
Take for example a break up. In the past, you just don’t see each other anymore. Maybe you’d bump into each other in the mall or read about the other person in the newspaper. Now, you get reminded of the rejection and hurt every place you turn to in your life — no calls, no texts, being absent in all you see in social media.
It’s quite a number of tasks once you lose a person important to you and you’re in mourning. You archive chats, photos, block them or delete them on social networking sites, add their names to keyword filters. Soon you’ve to add everything in the metaverse to that lists. I’m not looking forward to that.
Being ghosted on more instances of reality, not getting any Tinder matches, somehow getting left out of a group chat or server… Our mental resilience also need to keep up as technology evolves and adoption rates surge.
Perhaps we need a psych bootcamp for an even more connected world. We often talk about the ecosystem needing to catch up and move at an orchestrated pace (say networks and devices and technology). Everything’s connected. What we often leave out is the sociological and psychological part of it. The political even. Laws need to be in place to protect victims in more instances of realities. Too often, they don’t keep up fast enough. Societal resources need to be ready to support the people who are going to adopt anything new. We are a resilient species, but our vulnerability is also what makes us human.
With things as they are, I’m not ready for the metaverse, as fast as it is coming towards me. It’s a little too hard to accept that our infrastructures are able to take this advancement on. We’re still fighting battles of online harassment — bills are still being passed. Victims of abuse are often stranded behind. We’re still arguing about privacy rights. I’m not sure if we can ever keep up to protect our own. But then again, I guess the fight between good and evil is going to be a long drawn one, or a constant.
I like to think that when things scare you, it must be good. That’s how I know I’ve a good idea I need to seriously consider. I’m kind of scared of a virtual reality, of the metaverse. Sign me up for a bootcamp to prepare for the future please.
