Lol at the usual overreacters. The metaverse is simply a new dimension we are entering into. It all is still insignificant compared to god’s infinite realm, and this is just a tiny drop in the bucket. Humans will always “progress” although it will never be anything compared to the infinity of the lord.
This is just Atlas posters unable to cope with change, which is perfectly human, even if irrational.
“Real life”, “not real life”, it all is insignificant in the grand scope of things. What is real to you is just a temporary phase of existence, don’t get too attached to it.
The doomsayers about previous stages of high-tech change, like Web 1.0->Web 2.0 and flip phones->smartphones, were entirely correct and indeed underreacted if anything when it came to these changes' corrosive effects on society, despite having at the same time overreacted to the possibility of more "hard sci-fi" problems.
That said, a lot of the problems of the internet of today probably aren’t inherent consequences of the technology but rather bound up in the Wild West, ultracapitalist, unregulated environment that they exist in. I’m fairly, maybe not optimistic, but hopeful that the regulatory environment and state action is capable of catching up.
With the « metaverse » well, call me old fashioned, but I like the feeling of the wind on my face and the sun on my skin. Not whatever make believe dystopia our tech overlords are now offering us.
