The Metaverse's Potential Impact on Mental Health

 In its “Future of Everything” series, the WSJ explored the-metaverse’s-effects-on-mental-health.

For the following reasons, put me down squarely on the side of those who are greatly concerned.

1.      Our world changes so quickly and is so complicated that even our brightest people have trouble keeping up and understanding how things work.  This speed of change leads to mental disease (admittedly, likely only temporary or sporadic in many cases).

2.      These changes pressure relationships.  The percentage of strong lifelong relationships has decreased, even though technology allows us to “stay in touch”.

3.      Technology makes it increasingly difficult to identify the truth.  We can create images of people showing them saying the exact opposite of what they said.

4.      Complexity leads to increased specialization, making it harder for people to understand and control the overall picture.

5.      Virtual reality (VR) provides an escape from reality.  I think we need to learn to cope with reality, not to escape it.

6.      What happens where VR is hacked?

7.      VR provides a scary opportunity for government control.

8.      Imagine Mao Tse-tung’s “Cultural Revolution”, China’s current treatment of Uighurs, the holocaust or slavery, etc., with the ability to “re-educate” people using VR.

9.      VR can also be used to control people by providing or withdrawing pleasurable experiences or applying stressful experiences

10.   Eventually, a baby could be fit with contact lens at birth, allowing the government to “teach” it what it wants the human to think, to know if he/she (“it” perhaps is more relevant) is having impermissible thoughts and to know exactly where the person is.

Certainly, I can imagine some benefits in individual circumstances.  However, from my perspective, those advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages.  Many of those advantages have the form of others doing things to us/for us, which reduces personal responsibility.  On the other hand, allowing us to dial the frequency, duration and type of VR we experience can easily lead to addiction.

Many people believe that freedom will inevitably triumph because the subjected masses will revolt.  Did the holocaust end in such fashion?  No, it was the strength of the Allies that won the day.  Did slavery end in such fashion?  No.  Enabling increasing government intrusion into our lives does not bode well for freedom.

Comments, as always, are welcome.  Please, persuade me otherwise, as my concerns are not good for my mental health!