The Metaverse is Stupid

So far VR has been one big meh

Photo by Remy Gieling on Unsplash

Now and for the foreseeable future, the metaverse looks like a non-starter. It pains me to say that because I’ve always been a technophile. I love gadgets and the changes they sometimes bring.

I just don’t see any there there.

2007’s introduction of the smartphone brought a wave of undeniable change. Only time will tell if the good (having a second brain in your pocket) will outweigh the bad (an increasingly divided humanity with a diminishing attention span), but I’m inclined to look at it optimistically.

The one thing you can’t deny, however, is the change was unambiguous. A new piece of tech appeared and, almost immediately, society was different.

That’s not happening with the metaverse. In fact, it’s been not happening for a long time now.

I was around in the early 1990s when virtual reality headsets began appearing in public spaces. My first foray into Virtual Reality was at a Dave & Busters in Atlanta, Georgia. In that, ahem, experience, you donned the equipment, and you shot at poorly drawn pterodactyls.

It was, to be kind, less than thrilling. However, it hijacked some of your primary senses. Your brain thought you were in a new kind of space. If you could avoid throwing up, it was, I…