UNAIR NEWS – Recently, there was a real buzz on technology companies competing to develop Metaverse. The virtual reality world that offers interaction between users using avatars caused concern from various parties about its impacts on human life in the future.

Regarding one of the advances in technological developments, a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Airlangga, Dr. Rahkman Ardi, has given his response.

“If we talk about the positive and negative side, it is in every tool and technology. We will see what it will look like in the future, although maybe we can predict it from now on, “he explained, Thursday, December 12, 2021.

The positive side of this Metaverse, he continued, is that people will be more connected and able to take advantage of new opportunities. However, this will also cause a person to be more immersed in virtual space to realize the ideal self that could not be achieved in the real world. In other words, the line between real and virtual reality will be even more blurred.

Need to be wary

The cyberspace psychology expert said that although Metaverse technology is still an idea, there are several things that people need to be aware of to welcome the idea of this futuristic world. One of them is related to community readiness.

“What we need to watch out for is when we don’t prepare the younger generations to be in a world that is already connected to virtual reality,” said Dr. Ardi.

We can reflect on this, he continued, from the current use of the internet where people lack literacy from an early age. As a result, many netizens’ behavior tends to be unethical or disturbing.

“Every future has its own challenges for sure. When we don’t prepare for this, that is what we have to be aware of,” said Dr. Ardi.

Dr. Ardi added that one of the important things that need to be prepared regarding the Metaverse idea is the literacy of the Indonesian people. “This literacy is how people know how things work in the Metaverse world. Second, knowing the logic of the technology in the Metaverse will have an impact on his life,” he said.

Furthermore, digital awareness and critical thinking skills when dealing with technology are also things that need to be prepared. Technological developments will certainly spoil many people, but it is like two sides of a coin that can be seen as good and bad. To minimize the risks and losses faced by users, preventive efforts to prepare the human mentality are needed. (*)

Author: Agnes Ikandani

Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh