The rapid development of digital technologies today has led to the emergence of technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality. As a result, a new concept called metaverse has emerged. Metaverse can be thought of as a virtual world. However, this virtual world is defined as a world in which users can interact in real time and exist in digital environments.

In this article, we will provide a detailed analysis of the concept and future of metaverse. We will also provide information about the opportunities, challenges, and potential risks that metaverse offers.

What is Metaverse and how does it work?

Metaverse is a three-dimensional virtual universe where digital worlds interact with each other. It is an environment created by virtual reality technology where people can interact virtually. Metaverse has emerged from the integration of video game universes, where people can play together, on a larger scale. This allows people to explore different worlds, make new friends, and attend business meetings in a virtual environment.

The Interoperable Virtual Worlds Protocol (IVWP), an open-source protocol that supports the interaction between virtual worlds, is used to enable this interaction. This protocol is designed to facilitate interaction between different game universes and virtual worlds. Thus, characters, items, and other data from different games can be transferred between different game universes.

The integration of virtual worlds with each other allows them to be used in various sectors. For example, in the education sector, it can be used to enable students to meet with students from different countries, learn about their cultures, learn new languages, and work on projects together. In addition, virtual stores, digital markets, and other businesses that take place in a virtual world can operate through metaverse.

Opportunities provided by Metaverse

It has an important potential for many sectors with the opportunities it provides. People can find the opportunity to experience experiences that they cannot do in real life through the metaverse. These experiences can be used in different sectors to create new markets for businesses.

It offers an important opportunity especially for the e-commerce sector. Stores that can sell over the virtual world can increase their customer portfolio by offering their products to a different audience. In addition, virtual stores can be opened at lower costs and offer a wider range of products than physical stores.

The education sector can also capture many opportunities with the metaverse. Students can learn about their cultures by interacting with students from different countries through the metaverse. In addition, virtual classrooms can increase the quality of education by giving students experiences that are not possible in real life.

It also has the potential to be used in the health sector. Especially during the pandemic period, services such as virtual therapy sessions can be offered over the metaverse, and people can easily benefit from their homes.

The current challenges of the Metaverse

Although not fully developed yet, it is seen as a technology that could have great potential in the future. However, the metaverse also has its current challenges. These challenges are:

Lack of standardization: Different platforms, game engines and software development tools have different standards in Metaverse, which may cause users not to have the same experience in different virtual worlds. This brings with it the interoperability of the metaverse and the challenge for users to move their own assets in different virtual worlds.

Privacy and security concerns: Privacy and security issues can arise as Metaverse allows users to live in the digital world without leaving real life. A strong framework for the security and privacy of the metaverse needs to be established so that users know their virtual assets are safe and can interact securely with other users.

Content creation and moderation: Metaverse is a platform where creators and developers can create new and creative content. However, there are a number of challenges with content creation and moderation. In particular, issues such as detecting and blocking illegal activities, preventing harmful behavior such as hate speech or harassment, content fraud and spam can create difficulties in content creation and moderation.

Accessibility and equity: The metaverse can reflect or increase social, economic and cultural inequalities that exist in the real world. For example, it may not be financially feasible for many people to get high-quality VR experiences. Therefore, work needs to be done to make the metaverse accessible and fairly usable for all.

Potential risks of Metaverse

It is seen as a technology that could have great potential in the future. However, the metaverse also has potential risks. These risks are:

Fake news, manipulation and disinformation: In the Metaverse, users living in a different world from real life can increase the risks of misinformation and manipulation. The spread of fake news and manipulations in virtual worlds can mislead users and lead to an increase in fraud, fraud and other harmful activities.

Addiction and social isolation: Metaverse can increase the risks of addiction and social isolation by transporting users to a different world from real life. In particular, young users spending excessive time in virtual worlds and withdrawing from real-life social interactions can affect their psychological health.

Loss of privacy: Metaverse allows users to put on different personalities in virtual worlds and reveal their private lives. However, this can result in loss of privacy, and actions users take in the virtual world can have real-life personal and professional consequences.

Increasing cybercrime: Cybercrime may increase in the Metaverse. For example, theft of users’ virtual assets, fraud of virtual currencies, and other virtual fraudulent activities may increase. In addition, illegal activity in virtual worlds can be difficult to prevent and detect. Therefore, a strong approach to the security and legal framework of the metaverse is required.

Metaverse is a concept that emerged with the development of digital technologies. This virtual world is defined as a world where users can interact in real time, take place and interact in various digital environments. While Metaverse offers new opportunities, it also faces technological infrastructure deficiencies and potential risks. Therefore, more research is needed on the future of the metaverse.