The Time Compression of the Metaverse
The Metaverse has the ability to slow down time. Let me explain.
Modern society is derided for burying our faces in device screens. It can be dangerous even for pedestrians to walk and scroll or drive and text. I’m sure a driver who’s texting has hit a pedestrian who’s been walking and scrolling before.
Parents try to limit screen time with their kids because it’s perceived as bad.
My wife and I both have the tendency to chastise our boys for having bad attitudes when they have too much screen time.
But is that unfair? Is it possible that they’re so engaged with the content on the other end that they need to decompress and adjust to the real world again?
It’s like going deep sea diving. The deeper you go the more time you need to adjust at the surface?
The internet can be described as “other worldly”. Certainly, online games like Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite put you into a full blown 3d immersive world.
This other world experience can evoke all of the same emotions as the real one, and who’s to say those emotions as experienced aren’t real for the experienced??
Don’t lie when you, yourself, are surfing the internet and you’ve cried at an emotional TikTok or Facebook post. Shoot, grown men throw food at the TV screen when their teams are losing.
They are ALL virtual experiences that evoke real work emotions and the adjustment back to the real world might take time.
Anyway, these virtual planes of existence are exciting when new and when things are new, time moves more slowly because you’re taking in new sensory experiences. This is the beauty of traveling to overseas destinations that you’ve never visited before or learning a new language and trying to speak it. Every moment is savored for the memorable moments that they are.
The reason why time seems to go by so fast as adults is because the day-to-day experience is so familiar and routine. I complained to myself this morning that I want time to slow down so can experience more time with my kids. It’s going by so fast.
Visiting the metaverse will be like visiting new overseas locations, but not by airplane. It’ll be through device interfaces, but ones that aren’t traditionally handheld.
The metaverse will offer something new where your entire body is transported into a new place. And the newness of that experience will slow time down just like when you were a child experiencing the Earthbound world around you.
So, what’s the forensic angle in all of this? I’m not naive enough to believe the metaverse will be all rosy with new slowed down experiences evoking awe and admiration. I’ve seen the Web2 internet serve as a a place where bad things happen. Real world laws have been modified to apply online: cyber bullying laws have been codified; personal data is stolen and trafficked to the dark web; corporate secrets are transmitted via personal cloud accounts.
Web3, which is theoretically an underpinning for the metaverse, isn’t off to a good start with all the crypto scams and NFT Ponzi schemes. Participate in the metaverse, when it comes, with a responsible level of alertness and vigilance. Be careful that when you’re smelling the virtual flowers that you aren’t being virtually pickpocketed at the same time!
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Jerry Bui is Managing Director of Digital Forensics within FTI Consulting’s Technology segment focused on forensic technology and risk & compliance issues (all opinions his own). Jerry is a Certified Fraud Examiner and has over 20 years of experience in digital forensics, ediscovery, automated risk assessments, dashboard compliance monitoring, and investigative analytics. Jerry’s team provides evidence acquisition, expert witness, and strategic consulting services to law firms and corporations. Connect with Jerry on LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok.
The Digital Forensics Future (DFF) podcast is also available on the platforms below.
