Article 5

Dr. Spyros Kourias, Professor Leonidas Anthopoulos, Elli Kontogianni 

University of Thessaly

Abstract   

The Metaverse is an evolving concept in the digital realm, representing a collective virtual shared space that transcends physical and virtual boundaries. It is characterized by immersive experiences facilitated by virtual and augmented reality, underpinned by blockchain technology for secure transactions and the creation of unique digital assets. Its applications span gaming, entertainment, education, remote work, and healthcare but there is still a lot to be seen and implemented yet. Key components include social interaction, a digital economy, and the convergence of physical and virtual realities. This article aims to wrap up the understandings, the exciting possibilities that the Metaverse as well as the challenges it poses, necessitating a balance between innovation and ethical considerations for responsible development. As the Metaverse continues to integrate into daily life, its impact on societal dynamics and individual well-being will be profound.  

Keywords: Metaverse; challenges; applications; blockchain technology;    

 

1. Introduction  

The term "Metaverse" has gained immense traction in recent years, transcending its roots in science fiction and becoming a tangible and evolving concept in the digital realm. Coined by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash," the Metaverse represents a collective virtual shared space that is created by the convergence of physical and virtual reality. As technology continues to advance, the Metaverse is evolving from a futuristic dream to a present-day reality, reshaping how we interact, work, and play in the digital landscape. At its core, the Metaverse is an expansive, interconnected digital universe where users can engage in various activities, much like they would in the physical world. This immersive environment is not bound by traditional limitations, enabling users to seamlessly navigate between different virtual spaces, interact with others, and experience a wide array of digital content. The goal of the Metaverse is to assemble all of the services that are offered in both the physical world and the virtual world. Domains such as shopping, entertainment, culture, tourism and education will be intersected. One thing that the Metaverse has considered is that physical and digital realities are able to meet. The most essential points of Metaverse are the user's experience and the environment. A 3D world of objects can produce a 3D network of virtual spaces where users can do a wide variety of activities such as socializing, connecting, learning, working, shopping, playing, and many more (Al-Ghaili, et al., 2022). All these activities will be carried out by avatars. An avatar is a digital representation of the user and it can be formed according to its user preferences. An avatar may look exactly like the user do in real life or it can have a totally different appearance. Users have the ability to customize avatars’ clothing as well as facial and body features. Through avatars people will move around the Metaverse, on various virtual worlds and interact with others. In conclusion, Metaverse is a virtual world where we can create, work, play, communicate and interact with everyone regardless of language barriers or geographic location. Metaverse can make the world a smaller place, bringing people together like never before, but also making the world a more important place, providing more opportunities to everyone.    

2. Understanding the Metaverse   

Actually “Metaverse” is a compound word consisting of the words “meta” (meaning beyond) and “verse” (shorthand for the universe) and literally means a universe beyond the real world. As mentioned previously, Metaverse was first used in Neil Stevenson's science fiction novel “Snow Crash” in 1992 and referred to a world where virtual and reality interact and create value through various social activities (Park & Kim, 2022). Stephenson's book did not provide a specific definition of Metaverse, but what he described was a "persistent virtual world interacting and affecting almost every part of human existence" (Ball, 2022). In recent years, the term has drawn a lot of interest from a variety of sectors such as industry, society and scientific communities. Until now there is not a commonly accepted definition for this term. This fact creates demand for a comprehensive and broadly accepted definition of the Metaverse. Zhao et al (2022) in their article “Metaverse: Perspectives from graphics, interactions and visualization”, state that the term Metaverse remains ambiguous and is best understood if defined as a virtual world that is parallel to the real world.   The lack of a commonly accepted scientific definition of the term also arises from the research of Park & Kim (2022) who have recorded and analyzed 54 existing definitions in the literature that attempt to capture the concept of Metaverse. One of the most comprehensive definitions can be attributed to Matthew Ball and is the following: Metaverse is “A massively scaled and interoperable network of virtual worlds in real time that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by a virtually unlimited number of users with individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data such as identity, history, rights, objects, communications and payments” (Ball, 2022). Following Weinberger (2022), “the Metaverse is an interconnected web of ubiquitous virtual worlds partly overlapping with and enhancing the physical world. These virtual worlds enable users represented by avatars to connect and interact with each other, to experience and consume user-generated content in an immersive, scalable, synchronous and persistent environment. An economic system provides incentives for contributing to the Metaverse”. The Metaverse is often described as the next iteration of the internet after the fixed-line internet of the 1990s, the social net of the 2000s, and the mobile internet. Nevertheless, the Metaverse is not replacing the Internet, but it transforms it as “the Metaverse iterates further by placing everyone inside an ‘embodied’, or ‘virtual’ or ‘3D’ version of the internet and on a nearly unending basis. In other words, we will constantly be ‘within’ the internet, rather than have access to it, and within the billions of interconnected computers around us, rather than occasionally reach for them, and alongside all other users and real-time. The Metaverse, like the internet, mobile internet, and process of electrification, is a network of interconnected experiences and applications, devices and products, tools and infrastructure” (Matthewball vc & Ball, 2022).  

3. Key Components of the Metaverse  

Actually the Metaverse consists of a combination of the following key elements:  

•        Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): VR and AR technologies are fundamental to the Metaverse experience. VR immerses users in entirely digital environments, while AR overlays digital information onto the real world. Both technologies contribute to creating a seamless blend of the physical and virtual realms within the Metaverse.

•        Blockchain Technology: Decentralized and secure transactions facilitated by blockchain technology play a crucial role in the Metaverse. Blockchain enables the creation and management of unique digital assets, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can represent anything from virtual real estate to digital art.

•        Social Interaction and Collaboration: The Metaverse emphasizes social connectivity and collaboration. Virtual worlds within the Metaverse provide spaces for users to interact with each other in real-time, fostering a sense of community and shared experiences.

•        Digital Economy: In the Metaverse, users can engage in a digital economy where virtual goods and services have real-world value. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology facilitate secure transactions, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets within the Metaverse.  

•       Types of Metaverse   According to their form, Metaverses can be categorized in three main types: ·      

•       Traditional centralized Metaverses – Web2 types of Metaverse. These Metaverses function on a centralized system and do not incorporate blockchain into their mechanism. In other words, they are online locations managed by a central organization that stores user’s data access. These kinds of Metaverses have the most users, which is a big advantage. Users are using avatars in order to advance in the games. As a result, avatars are a key element of these Metaverses. For fashion companies that want to increase the number of their users, a Metaverse like this seems to be the best option, as they can provide avatars with wearables. One example of this type of Metaverse is the game Fortnite.

•       Centralized Blockchain Metaverse – Web3 types of Metaverse. This kind of Metaverses integrates blockchain into its mechanism which permits interactions to progress and develop in virtual environments. Users can then monetize their purchases and creations in a fully developed digital economic environment. A third party regulates user’s data access in this type of crypto-based Metaverse. Moreover, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which are traded or exchanged, can be found in these systems. One such example is Earth2, the next Meta Metaverse.

•       Decentralized Blockchain Metaverse – Web3 types of Metaverse. This kind of Metaverse is considered to be the most successful type. These Metaverses are usually based on a system called DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). In a DAO system, smart contracts are responsible for creating the rules for a certain Metaverse. In these decentralized blockchain Metaverses the users, not a central organization, are the ones who make the decisions. Each user who has a Metaverse token assumes a decision-making role in the management of the virtual world in which they live out their lives. Moreover, a virtual economy based on cryptocurrencies is developed. Decentralized Blockchain Metaverses have the unique ability to create community dynamic where the balance of power is reversed, as the idea of wealth redistribution makes more sense here. Users can monetize their products and resell them on these platforms because they have complete control over their data and the authority to make decisions. A main principle of decentralized Metaverses is that users can also receive rewards (virtual currency or items) and this is the reason why in this kind of Metaverses earning mechanisms in NFT such as “Create-to-earn”, “Play-to-earn”, “Engage-to-earn” are present. In this way, users or collaborators are feeling part of the ecosystem. Some examples are The Sandbox and Axie Infinity, based on the “Play-to-earn” model as they allow players to earn tokens or cryptocurrencies through gaming[1].   Applications of the Metaverse   Main applications and uses regarding the Metaverse can be summarized in the following:  

•        Gaming and Entertainment: The gaming industry has been at the forefront of Metaverse development, with virtual worlds offering immersive gaming experiences. Additionally, the Metaverse extends into entertainment, enabling users to attend virtual concerts, film screenings, and other events.

•        Education and Remote Work: The Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize education and remote work by providing virtual classrooms and collaborative workspaces. This could enhance accessibility, allowing individuals from different parts of the world to participate in educational and professional activities.

•        Healthcare: Virtual healthcare services and simulations within the Metaverse could facilitate medical training, therapy sessions, and even remote consultations, making healthcare more accessible and convenient.

•       How does the Metaverse work: According to Park & Kim (2022), from the component's point of view, Metaverse consists of hardware components (physical devices and sensors), software components (recognition and rendering) and contents (scenario and story). More specifically:

•      The essential hardware of Metaverse is an HMD (Head-Mounted Display) that blocks the view to enable immersive participation. Other hardware of Metaverse are Hand-Based input devices, Non-Hand-Based input devices and Motion input devices. Critical factors for physical devices and sensors are resolution, the field of view size and latency.

•      The software of the Metaverse concerns scene and object recognition, sound and speech recognition, scene and object generation, sound and speech synthesis and motion rendering. Although it is possible to capture the real-time 3D motion of difficult scenes and isolate human body structures (e.g., shaking hands), it is still limited in capturing close interactions (e.g., hugs).

•      Content is the fundamental component that maintains the Metaverse and is used to provide an immersive experience through well-organized stories and user-created events. The key elements of content are Multimodal content representation, linking and expansion, agent persona modeling, and scenario generation, population and evaluation. People immerse themselves in the world of Metaverse through avatars. An avatar is a digital version of its user. Avatars are able to engage in economic, social, political and cultural activities within a digital environment. They perform a social role suitable for a job and persona in Metaverse and reflect the ego of their users. The form of the avatar seems to be very important, especially for the younger generation, as they consider the social meaning of the virtual world as important as the real world. The avatars in Metaverse are connected with the users in the real world through Extended Reality (Park & Kim, 2022).

•      Extended reality or "Cross Reality" (XR) is a collective term that refers to immersive technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality[2]. In all of the XR aspects outlined above, people view and engage with a totally or partially artificial digital environment that has been created by technology. Users are taken to a virtual environment utilizing XR technology and other assisting devices. With the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, Metaverse provides its users with a 3D virtual world where all activities can be carried out (Buana, 2023). Through the use of motion controllers, XR systems enable direct engagement with virtual objects. Users are able to touch, grab, manipulate and operate virtual objects. Users do not need to be motionless to interact with XR environments, on the contrary they can activate their whole body. “The physical movement is being transferred into XR environments through positional and rotational tracking. Movement can be tracked with either external, permanently mounted cameras (outside-in) or through inherent headset sensors and cameras that monitor position changes in relation to the physical environment (inside out)” (Mystakidis, 2022). According to (Wang, et al., 2023) there are six enabling technologies underlying the Metaverse:

•       Interactivity. The main terminal for accessing the Metaverse is anticipated to be XR devices like helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) as miniaturized sensors, embedded technology and XR technology. “The XR technologies will offer multisensory immersiveness, augmented experience, and real-time user/avatar/environment interaction. Particularly, VR provides immersive experiences in a virtual world, AR delivers true presence experiences of virtual holograms, graphics, and videos in the real world, and MR offers a transition experience between VR and AR.”

•       Digital Twin. “Digital twin represents the digital clone of objects and systems in the real world with high fidelity and consciousness. It enables the mirroring of physical entities, as well as prediction and optimization of their virtual bodies, by analyzing real-time streams of sensory data, physical models, and historical information. Moreover, digital twins can provide precise digital models of the expected objects with intended attributes in the Metaverse with high accuracy through the simulation of complex physical processes and the assistance of AI technologies, which is beneficial for large-scale Metaverse creation and rendering.”

•      Networking. “In the Metaverse, networking technologies such as 6G, software defined network (SDN), and IoT empower the ubiquitous network access and real-time massive data transmission between real and virtual worlds, as well as between sub-Metaverses.”

•       Ubiquitous Computing. “Ubiquitous computing, or ubicomp aims to create an environment where computing appears anytime and everywhere for users. Through pervasive (often mobile) smart objects embedded in the environment or carried on the human body, ubiquitous computing enables smooth adaptation to the interactions between human users and the physical space. With ubicomp, instead of using specific equipment (e.g., laptop), human users can freely interact with their avatars and experience real-time immersive Metaverse services via ubiquitous smart objects and network access in the environment.”

•       Artificial intelligence (AI). “AI technology acts as the “brain” of Metaverse which empowers personalized Metaverse services (e.g., vivid and customized avatar creation), massive Metaverse scene creation and rendering, multilingual support in the Metaverse by learning from massive multimodal input via big data inference. Moreover, AI enables smart interactions (e.g., smart shopping guide and user movement prediction) between user and avatar/NPC (non-player character) via intelligent decision making. For example, by continuously learning users’ facial expressions, emotions, hairstyles, and so on, AI algorithms can create vivid and personalized avatars and intelligently recommend interested goods or information to users in the Metaverse.”

•       Blockchain. “To be persistent, the Metaverse should be constructed on a decentralized architecture to avoid centralization risks. Besides, the virtual economy and value system provided by the blockchain are essential components of the Metaverse. Blockchain technologies offer an open and decentralized solution for building the sustainable virtual economy, as well as constructing the value system in the Metaverse. Blockchain is a distributed ledger, in which data is structured into hash-chained blocks and featured with decentralization, immutability, transparency, and auditability.”

•   Opportunities that the Metaverse is expected to create   In the Metaverse there are challenges and opportunities. The most important ones are described below: ·

•   Sustainability. Sustainability is important to everyone, including governments, businesses, and individuals. It is claimed that the Metaverse will minimize carbon footprint. One of the most important contributors of carbon emissions is transportation. Metaverse will provide people with the opportunity to attend meetings and sightseeing through several platforms. As a result, the need for travelling (by plane, train or car) will be reduced. Besides, by avoiding travel and other related resource usage, the work productivity will be increased. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022)

•       Digital Marketing and Advertising. Similar to how people used to spend a lot of time on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and WhatsApp, people now spend a lot of time on Metaverse platforms for both personal and professional reasons. As a result, businesses are probably more likely to choose to advertise their services on such platforms than on traditional digital marketing-based publisher sites. “Metaverse-based marketing includes digital billboards, which would show customized product advertisements shown to different avatars based on their previous digital footprints and orientations.” The two most important benefits of the Metaverse concerning advertising are its immersiveness and interactivity granted that its multimedia platforms i will offer broader and deeper levels of sensory experiences to the users than traditional media. As a result, immersiveness may present great chances for advertising to draw media consumers' attention to their message. Interactivity of the Metaverse can also offer advertisers a wide set of communication options through its unlimited possibilities to create things that can be ‘interactable’.” In addition, users can have access to a wide variety of interactions with virtual goods and services—interactions that go well beyond simple clicks—than ever before. Customers may have the chance to connect electronically and physically (e.g., by virtually approaching and touching) with the goods and messages thanks to this increased interaction. In addition, marketers will have a ton of opportunities to interact and communicate with clients and other stakeholders in a Metaverse, via XR. Marketers have already used XR or Metaverse concepts for business purposes, which indicates what is possible to be done in this area. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022) ·       Branding. As far as branding is concerned, the Metaverse may give businesses the chance to expand their real-world positions or fully reposition their brands in a different setting. “For example, Nike opened a virtual replica of its Beaverton, Oregon, global headquarters through the Roblox virtual experience. Investing in a presence within a virtual world allows Nike to interact with potential and current customers, engage consumers through providing virtual shoes, apparel, and accessories, and build brand equity using gamified events.” Furthermore, AR may help businesses to increase brand attitudes by enhancing customers’ inspiration. Companies can link their brands across the two markets, giving them the chance to build synergies between the virtual and real worlds. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022)

•       Retailing and products. Metaverse offers the opportunity to sell both digital and physical goods on its platforms. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) enable users to purchase, own and exchange distinctive digital artifacts that are identified via blockchain technology. By utilizing NFTs' capabilities, businesses can expand their product offerings through virtual offers and increase interactions between the virtual and physical worlds. Payment is made via cryptocurrency-compatible digital wallets. Additionally, Metaverse will give content producers a great platform to sell their digital products and services. It resembles the user-generated content (UGC) on the internet. Because of the diversity of content producers, the Metaverse platform would be enhanced by creative creations. Digital twins, which are digital copies of things existing in the real world, can also be sold on the Metaverse marketplace. Customers can browse digital goods and buy the tangible counterparts of products that are on exhibit. For instance, IKEA has introduced augmented reality ideas that let customers view how a product would look in their space before deciding to buy it. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022) ·       Tourism. Metaverse can provide travelers with a new way to interact with other cultures and locations without having to physically visit them. Users can visit virtual replicas of real-world places including museums, landmarks, and other tourist attractions in a virtual space. This enables those who are unable to travel or who are reluctant to travel for any reasons to visit these locations and discover the local people's cultures and histories. In tourism, the Metaverse effectively integrates virtual and actual reality by allowing active participation opportunities in immersive experiences. Users can switch between virtuality and reality using a variety of digital technologies. “Travelers will be able to blend work and leisure time and space, fueling a new work pattern through digital nomads. Travelers will be able to work from remote areas, in different environments according to their preferences. This means that physical presence at the workplace will be limited, whilst travelers will be able to establish telepresence and work remotely. Meetings conferences and incentives will also be revolutionized, as the Metaverse will support hybrid developments for these functions.” Shopping is a significant part of travel, and that will alter as well. Travelers will be able to rapidly compare pricing, try clothes on avatars, and feature souvenirs in their own spaces to see if they fit. Customers will have the option to select the best providers and delivery methods regardless of their location. In addition, Metaverse will be used to choose appropriate tourism items and locations as well as to test out various service providers, like hotels and restaurants, to determine whether their services and facilities are appropriate of the user. This will be very useful especially for people with special needs. Finally, navigating and guiding procedures will be provided through the use of AR and VR technologies, enhancing the travel experience for tourists who are physically present at a destination. In conclusion, Metaverse will be able to make virtual and physical travel experiences coexist in a sustainable manner. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022)

•       Education. We have seen the education sector develop over the last years as a result of the integration of digital tools into the teaching, learning, and evaluation processes. The adoption of online learning platforms like Moodle, Blackboard, etc. has made asynchronous learning possible for students. By removing physical barriers, virtual meeting platforms (like Zoom, WebEx, etc.) helped educators and students engage in synchronous learning. Although there are many digital tools available for online education, they have not been able to come close to simulating the face-to-face learning experiences afforded in a classroom. The use of Metaverse in the field of education has the potential to enhance online learning opportunities and give educational service providers the ability to create virtual learning spaces that resemble traditional classroom settings. With the backing of IoT, AI, blockchain, and machine learning, Metaverse can provide enhanced virtual and augmented reality experiences with interactions between actual and virtual environment. Consequently, compared to earlier technologies, its application in the field of education can allow better user-environment interaction, recreate emotional and cognitive processes, and more closely approximate the total face-to-face classroom experience. Furthermore, Metaverse can provide new forms of learning such as hands-on training using scenarios that aren't possible in the real world, enhancing in this way the learning experience with action, creativity and real experience. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022)

•       Healthcare. “Remote healthcare services have become a key component of overall healthcare provision with 95% of healthcare facilities now able to provide remote treatment to patients (up from 43% prior to 2020), and the Metaverse can offer an innovative element for the benefit of both patient and healthcare professional (Forbes, 2022b). The Metaverse has the potential to facilitate healthcare as a service through the concept of the virtual hospital, where VR and haptic interactions can offer help for counselling and physiotherapy services as well as disease progression and care escalation as required.” (Dwivedi, et al., 2022). The healthcare system in the Metaverse offers interactive, immersive, and enjoyable health care experiences that are tailored to each patient's specific needs. The use of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), AR, VR, telepresence, digital twinning and blockchain exposes people to new, much less expensive therapy delivery methods, improving patient outcomes. “The four axis of the Metaverse implementations in healthcare are Virtual Consultation, Medical Education, Monitoring and Alerts, Assisting Surgical and Interventional Procedures.” Some of the applications are effective planning and diagnosis of diseases, amplified prescription treatments, assisting surgical procedures (from simple procedures to complex surgeries), advanced capabilities in image visualization, improving patients’ engagement with the help of high-quality immersive content, revolutionizing medical education and training (Chengoden, et al., 2023).

•       Innovation. The elements that are essential for every idea to succeed are the ability to experiment, the ideal setting for the development of a good or service, selecting qualified people to manage the processes and the simplicity of launching a good or service on the market for testing. In Metaverse these factors can be facilitated as it provides a ready-made platform which enables experimenting products and services with customers. Also, procedures like hiring and having the appropriate environment to test the products and services are supposed to be immediate in the virtual world. The Metaverse will foster innovation due to XR, which enables a dynamic connection between individuals in a virtual environment. Combined with the influence of crypto currency, blockchain technologies and non-fungible tokens, opportunities for the development of new goods and services are presented. As a result, Metaverse will encourage innovation. (Dwivedi, et al., 2022)

•   Challenges and Considerations   While the Metaverse presents exciting opportunities, it also brings forth challenges, including privacy concerns, digital security, and the potential for creating virtual spaces that replicate real-world inequalities. Striking a balance between innovation and ethical considerations will be crucial in shaping the responsible development of the Metaverse.   In the Metaverse, security and privacy are major concerns, just like on social networking sites. In order to identify a user, malicious users can track and gather real-time biometrics (such as facial expressions and vocal inflections) and Metaverse users' behavior (such as their interactions with other users and purchasing actions). The Metaverse is based on a digital environment, so cybersecurity and privacy concerns must be taken into account in order to provide users with a safe environment. More particularly, the following categories should be mentioned:

•       Data security. The avatar of the user creates a variety of data in the Metaverse, including private information (such messages, audio, and video), secrets used for work, and personal information which are required for services to continue. The data collected or generated by wearable devices and users may cause threats in terms of data tampering, false data injection ownership tracing and intellectual property violation in the Metaverse. In comparison to the existing Internet, the Metaverse requires new hardware and gadgets to capture a variety of previously uncollected sorts of data, such as eye movement, facial expression, and head movement, in order to create completely immersive user experience. As a result, it creates significant difficulties for gathering, administering, and archiving this vast amount of data (Wang, et al., 2023). Security risks will therefore persist. It is possible that private data kept in a virtual environment, in a Metaverse platform, or in a service system to be forged and leaked. ·       User Generated Content (UGC) ownership protection. In the Metaverse there is no centralized authority. Due to this lack, ownership and provenance of UGCs cannot be easily identified. In addition, it is hard to turn UGCs into protected assets. UGC provenance information such as the source, circulation and intermediate processing information is frequently kept in separate data silos (such as different blockchains) making it challenging to monitor and follow in real time. Βy extension, there are threats concerning Intellectual Property Protection. It may be extremely difficult to define and defend intellectual property, as countries' borders are blurred in the Metaverse, as is their geography. For instance, the use of celebrity lookalikes in video games has already caused problems (Wang, et al., 2023).

•       Privacy. User’s privacy includes location privacy, habits and living styles. Metaverse systems have much greater capacity for sensitive data collection than conventional systems as they use devices such as HMDs that can record videos and conversations or even what the user looks at (eye-tracking) (Dwivedi, et al., 2022). Wang et al (2023) refer two examples: “For example, the motion sensors and four built-in cameras in the Oculus helmet help track the head direction and movement, draw our rooms, as well as monitor our positions and environment in real time with submillimeter accuracy, when we browse the Roblox and interact with other avatars. If this device is hacked by attackers, severe crimes can be committed on the basis of these large-volume of sensitive data. Another example is the attractive virtual office (e.g., Horizon Workroom and Microsoft Mesh), which may arise significant security and privacy risks to employees. On one hand, employee conversations, the emails they send, the URLs they visit, their behaviors, and even the tones of their voices may be monitored by the managers. On the other hand, the immersive workplace may be prone to other security and privacy issues such as intrusions, snooping, and impostors”.

•       Software and Hardware (device) security. There are many different types of security concerns in the Metaverse, as there are in current software systems such as insecure system architecture, malware, ransomware. In addition, devices like HDMs and VR headsets can be linked to biometric data of their user and this is the reason why this kind of devices must be secured. In the Metaverse, security and privacy shouldn't be optional. These are essential and important elements that must be continuously controlled throughout the entire service process in a Metaverse environment (Dwivedi, et al., 2022).

•       Another issue concerning the threats of the Metaverse is the health of the users. As the transition from traditional to digital continues, many people will undoubtedly spend a lot more time focused on their virtual identities than their actual bodies. As an avatar can take any form, there is no need to look like the person behind it (Clemens, 2022). In addition, other health threats such as obesity and eye health need to be watched out for. Factors like the lack of physical movement, the consumption of high-calorie meals and the amount of hours that people will spent in the Metaverse, will increase the possibility for humans to experience obesity. As far as eye health is concerned, the eyes will be affected by using a tool like VR to enter the Metaverse reality, especially for an extended period of time (Buana, 2023).

 From the other hand, there are also concerns about people's mental health when dealing with Metaverse. You cannot predict the form and magnitude of bullying within a virtual environment, nor the behavior of the people within it. No one can say for sure that people (through the avatars) will treat others as if they were being met in the real world. Besides, many scientists consider that participation in virtual reality is addictive, making users increasingly want to be in it. This can even lead to confusion of what is real and what belongs only to the realm of figuration. An essential component of the Metaverse is the virtual economy. Almost everything that people do in the physical world, like estate purchases, item rentals and service acquisitions, will be included in the Metaverse. The majority of Metaverse platforms support cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other digital assets as the backbone of the Metaverse economy and these are likely to become the dominant form of Metaverse value exchange. However, users and managers will face skill and trust difficulties because of the new ways of operating. According to Sun et al. (2022) “Regulators may lack the authority and effective management of these transactions. Meanwhile, the storage and management of digital assets depend on the reliability of the system, such as encrypted storage and smart contract-based management and exchange. Criminals may exploit vulnerabilities in the system to steal digital assets”. The Metaverse is the next stage in our world's digital transition, which will have an impact on all of the key players in business. New business models will be introduced, and digital business will be expanded thanks to the Metaverse (Schmitt, 2022). As a result, people involved must be protected. Despite the exciting digital society that the Metaverse offers, there are some serious negative side effects that can emerge in human society, including user addiction, rumor prevention, child pornography, biased results, extortion, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and even simulated terrorist camps. Extremists and terrorists may be facilitated to meet and recruit, as the Metaverse can offer new ways for training and coordination and lowering costs for finding new targets. Another issue concerning the society is the "butterfly effect" which is caused due to the extremely rapid information spreading (Wang, et al., 2023). In addition, Buana (2023) discusses how the Metaverse can affect human social life. The cultural patterns of human connection have changed as a result of the digital age, with this transformation being the most evident influence that can be seen today. The level of interpersonal contact and communication used to be high (before development of technologies such as social media), but now this phenomenon keeps getting smaller. Today, people tend to be more comfortable communicating in virtual worlds than in real world. From here can be seen that the Metaverse's existence will undoubtedly have a significant impact on human civilization and may even help to create a new culture for people.    

4. Conclusion   

The Metaverse is more than just a buzzword; it represents a transformative shift in how we engage with the digital world. As technology continues to advance and connectivity becomes more pervasive, the Metaverse will likely become an integral part of our daily lives. Navigating this new frontier requires a thoughtful approach, with a focus on inclusivity, security, and ethical considerations to ensure that the Metaverse enhances, rather than detracts from, our overall well-being and societal progress.    

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